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PLAIN SERMONS 



BY 



REV. THOS. S. DOLAW. 



ST. LOUIS, MO., AND FREIBURG (BADEN). 

PUBLISHED BY B. HERDER, 

1907. 



Nihil obstat. 

St. Louis, Mo., March 6th, 1907. 

F. G. Holweck, 

Censor. 

Imprimatur. 

St. Louis, Mo., March 6th, 1907. 

John J. Gl,ennon, 

Archbishop of St. Louis, Mo. 



LIBRARY of CONFESS 
Two Copies Receive 

DEC 11 190? 

OopyriKM tntry 
CLASSY XXc, No. 



u 



COPY B. 



Copyright, 1907, by Joseph Gummersbach, 



ST. LOUIS, MO. 
LUMBERMEN'S PRINTING CO. 

1907. 



Contents. 



Page. 

Preface 5 

The Supernatural Kingdom 9 

Faith '.. 25 

The Church — The Organ of Revelation 41 

The Holy Eucharist 55 

The Saints of God 72 

Purgatory 86 

The Incarnation 100 

The Virgin Mother, r.-. . . . 117 

CONSOLATRIX AfFLICTORU}! ..-....' 131 

The Immaculate Conception 1 142 

worldliness in; relloion. £ 158 

Christ Our Teacher .... .,... . . ■ 173 

Salvation 191 

Mortal Sin .— /-.- — .Vr. . i 207 

Death ' 223 

Judgment 239 

Heaven 255 

Prayer 269 

The Name of God 288 

The Passion 303 

The Misery of a Life of Sin 318 

Religion and the Family 334 

The Greatest Responsibility of Married 

Life 350 

Respect for Parental and Church Au- 
thority . 368 

Preparation for Marriage 386 



PREFACE. 

The average priest looks with, suspicion 
upon sermon books, because contact with 
them has not afforded him the desired help 
in the work of his ministry. He complains 
that the discourses he finds in books are for 
the most part, unattractive in form, trite, 
platitudinarian, or too long if not too short. 
Unfortunately his complaints are all too 
well founded, and hence it is with a certain 
fear and trembling that one dares bring any 
thing forward in the shape of sermons or 
conferences. Yet there is a demand for ser- 
mon books on the part of the younger cler- 
gy, and if the writer understands that de- 
mand aright, it embraces first a good-deal of 
truth, secondly attractive and direct form, 
and thirdly moderate brevity. A long ser- 
mon, though otherwise a meritorious one, is 
for most people a distinct failure. There 
are occasions it is true, when a lengthy dis- 

(5) 



6 Plain Sermons, 

course is both expected and required, but 
these occasions are rare. His Eminence 
Cardinal Gibbons has said on a number of 
occasions in the writer's hearing, that gen- 
erally speaking, a priest has no business in 
the pulpit for more than half an hour. Most 
priests will assuredly agree with the Cardi- 
nal in this view. The method of memoriz- 
ing the productions of Lacordaire, Monsabre, 
Felix, Ravignan, Newman, Hedley and 
Tyrrell, and declaiming them before Ameri- 
can congregations is simply pathetic, yet 
there are those who adopt this method, and 
fancy that thereby they advance the minis- 
try of the pulpit. On the other hand, there 
is an erroneous prejudice among some in fa- 
vor of a rambling discourse of about ten or 
fifteen minutes duration, whereby nothing 
is effected save perhaps a certain irreverence 
to the word of God. 

The following sermons are partly dog- 
matic and partly moral. That they have 
many defects the writer is deeply conscious, 
yet there has been an earnest effort to 
present some of the truths of religion in a 
lucid and direct manner, to get away from 



Preface. 7 

platitude in that presentation, and to invest 
it with a certain freshness. The dogmatic 
sermons could be utilized for lenten courses 
and the moral conferences would serve easily 
for retreats to sodalities or organizations of 
young men. These of course would have 
to be supplemented by short instructions, 
particularly on the worthy reception of the 
sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucha- 
rist. T. S. D. 

St. Marys , Laurel \ Md. 
1906. 



THE SUPERNATURAL KINGDOM 

"Give glory to the Lord for He is good for 
His mercy endureth forever. Let them say so 
that have been redeemed by the Lord, whom 
He hath redeemed from the hand of the en- 
emy, and gathered out of the countries. From 
the rising and from the setting of the • sun, 
from the north and from the sea. They wan- 
dered in a wilderness; they found not the way 
of a city for their habitation. And He led 
them into the right way, that they might go to 
a city of habitation." 

Psalms CVI, 1, 2, 3, 4. 

The gentiles sat in darkness and in the 
jhadow of death; they famished for want of 
spiritual food, and groped about helplessly 
for want of spiritual light. They felt the 
need of religion by virtue of a natural her- 
itage bestowed upon man from the beginn- 
ing, but so corroded were their notions con- 
cerning this need, that they extravagantly 
worshiped their heroes and warriors, their 
loves and their hates , their virtues and even 
their most repulsive vices. All flesh had 

(9) 



10 Plain Sermons. 

corrupted its way indeed, and the children of 
earth lay in a dreadful moral torper. The 
Almighty looked -down upon this dreadful 
panorama and was moved. There struggled 
in His heart, (if so I may speak), wrath 
and mercy, the one aroused at mens' in- 
iquities, the other at the degradation and 
misery of the creature made to His own im- 
age, and lo! mercy triumphed. As the 
lightning flash rends the inky sky, with 
a light of dazzling brilliancy, and is followed 
by the deafening reverberations of thunder, 
even so, there flashed from Heaven a light 
that illumined a darksome world, and there 
was heard a voice that thundered to the ut- 
termost bounds of the earth, a message to 
the nations, that they should rise up and 
hearken to the mighty appeal of Eternal love. 
I The words of the Holy Ghost which I 
lhave quoted from the one-hundred and sixth 
psalm, show forth beautifully and prophetic- 
ally the result of that merciful appeal of an 
offended God. i 'They wandered in a wilder- 
ness," says the Psalmist, "in a place with- 
out water, they were hungry and thirsty; 
their soul fainted in them. And they cried 



The Supernatural Kingdom. 11 

to the Lord in their tribulations; and He de- 
livered them out of their distresses." We 
cannot but be struck by the heart-rending 
pathos of these words of inspiration, as they 
set before us with marvellous realism, the' 
sad condition of the race on account of it's in- 
iquities; and the Almighty appears to us in 
this beautiful psalm, as not only willing to 
condone the offenses of men, but as yearn- 
ing with Infinite love, to lead them to a ha- 
ven of security. The psalm is, as we have 
said, prophetic. It points out the vocation of 
the gentiles through Jesus Christ, and the 
city of habitation is the kingdom which the 
Redeemer was to win by His blood, namely, 
the Church. 

It is not our intention to dilate in any 
general fashion upon this supernatural king- 
dom, nor indeed to treat in detail its notes 
and attributes. It will be rather our endeav- 
or, to look upon the Church as a singular fact 
of history by reason of permanency and co- 
hesiveness , and we will make an effort at ex- 
plaining why the Church alone possesses these 
characteristics to any marked degree. Fin- 
ally we will strive to find the reason why 



12 Plain Sermons. 

the Church in the exercise of her beneficent 
mission among men, has been far more suc- 
cessful than any organized effort for man's 
uplifting, that the world knows of. 

A study of the civil history of the world, 
even though that study be made after a sup- 
erficial manner, would reveal to the investi- 
gator, a great variety of governmental 
forms, which have been both prominent and 
important factors in that history. To in- 
stance this truth, we need but mention the 
monarchial system with all its varieties ex- 
tending from absolutism to constitutional- 
ism, the obligarchical system, and the vari- 
ous phases of democracy and republicanism. 
Political sagacity has so far failed to give an 
unquestionable demonstration, as to which 
of all these forms possesses the best claims 
by virtue of its inherent excellence. We, 
as Americans, naturally feel, and it may be, 
are for the most part intimately convinced, 
that our form of government is the best and 
wisest that the world has ever known. Our 
adversaries tell us however, and with un- 
questionable truth, that our governmental 
form is amenable to the worst species of po- 



The Supernatural Kingdom. 13 

litical venality. The partisan of a constitu- 
tional monarchy, will insist that the conser- 
vatism of such a form of government, effects 
an evenly balanced state of national affairs, 
which results in permanency, and he will j 
quote history to his advantage. Another 
will maintain that despotism merits the char- 
acter of excellence, from the fact that it nar- 
rows the horizon of the lower classes, thus 
limiting their ambitions and desires, and 
thereby making a happy condition for them, 
a thing of easy achievement. He will place 
before us the axiom, which even in this rest- 
less age is rather generally accepted, name- 
ly, "the fewer the desires, the happier the 
man." Whatever may be the comparative 
merits of the various forms, upon this we 
are bound to agree, that each has done a 
great work, and when examined in the light 
of its essential principles, each gives striking 
reasons why it might last till the end of 
time. We know however, that these vari- 
ous forms spend their energy with an astound- 
ing rapidity, and that the history of peoples 
is a narrative of change. True, history re- 
cords examples of national revivals. Thrones 



14 Plain Sermons, 

have been rehabilitated, and the one order 
has been restored again and again. All this 
however constitutes the history of change 
and revolution, which are the world's most 
patent notes. 

There is, beloved, in this world of change, 
one fact, which is a living contradiction of 
that change and revolution which are so un- 
iversal. There is a kingdom which has 
gathered and held under its powerful but be- 
nign rule, subjects from every tribe and race 
under heaven — a kingddm which takes no 
cognizance of national prejudice or of racial 
peculiarities. It is a kingdom which is nev- 
er satisfied with present acquisitions; for it 
has designs upon the entire world. It is a 
mighty empire, which numbers its subjects 
in figures far exceeding those of which most 
earthly potentates can boast, and this mar- 
velous kingdom, this tremendous fact, is the 
Church of Jesus Christ. It is the universal 
brotherhood which is so clear in prophecy, 
so perfectly set forth in parable, so palpably 
realized in fact, Beloved, if this striking fact 
exists in the world, in contradiction to the 
known data of history, and in contradiction 



The Supernatural Kingdom. 15 

to the lesson which history teaches, then it 
follows cogently that in this altogether ex- 
ceptional kingdom, there must be some ele- 
ment which all others lack — some principle 
of permanency and continuity which we look 
for elsewhere in vain. 

The striking description which is given 
in the "Acts of the Apostles" of devout 
men from every nation, giving their allegi- 
ance to the nascent Church on that memora- 
ble morn when Peter stood forth and preach- 
ed the Crucified, would express but very in- 
adequately, the state of affairs now existing 
in the Church. Well nigh three hundred 
millions of souls scattered throughout the 
entire world worship Jesus Christ as mem-; 
bers of the Church. There is no physical 
force to keep this mighty throng together — 
nor is there any menace of violence held up 
to those who would desert the ranks, and 
yet no bond of patriotism that ever attached 
a man to his country, holds like that link 
which unites the Catholic to his Church. 
She stands before the world a permanent, 
changeless and hence unique fact. 

The Church, beloved, is all that she is, 



16 Plain Sermons. 

and is so different from everything else in the 
world, because she is a Divine institution; 
because in other words, of the supernatural 
principle that lives in her and dominates 
her. This is the sole explanation of her ex- 
istence and her possession of those charac- 
teristics, which so thoroughly differentiate 
her from every other institution that the 
world has knowledge of, and it is the sole 
explanation of the marvels she has wrought 
for man's benefit. 

As the results of Raffael's sublimest in- 
spirations, are meaningless, save in a light 
which will reveal their wondrous beauty; 
in like manner, unless the light and warmth 
of the supernatural are brought to bear up- 
on the nature of man, there can be no com- 
plete developement or perfection. The 
world's best efforts have done well for man, 
but the supernatural only, has really puri- 
fied and uplifted him, and made him con- 
scious of his own natural dignity. Amongst 
all those influences which the world has ex- 
ercised for the development of man, perhaps 
the two most powerful and farthest reaching 
in their effects are the civilizations of Greece 



The Supernatural Kingdom. 17 

and Rome. Such was the civilization of 
Greece, that after the lapse of hundreds up- 
on hundreds of years since she sat in proud 
estate upon her archipelago, the names of Ath- 
ens, Sparta, Corinth and Thermopylae flood 
the soul with thoughts of glory, of . beauty 
and of loveliness. Greece taught man to 
reason and philosophize. She taught him 
to appreciate his intellect as the noblest ele- 
ment of his being. She gave him laws for 
the preservation of social order. She taught 
him to know, admire and love the true, the 
good and the beautiful; and to crystalize his 
conceptions in imperishable lines and state- 
ly, graceful monuments. She filled his soul 
with patriotism. She attempted at least, to 
teach him religion. Did she teach him 
justice or chastity? Did she foster in his 
soul humanitarian or philanthropic senti- 
ments? No, a thousand times no, to both 
these queries. The state was made up of 
one class possessing rights, served by a 
countless multitude of human beings, who 
had no place or name in law, save that they 
were under the complete control of their 
masters. These slaves were, according to 



18 Plain Sermons. 

the declaration of the immortal Aristotle, 
specifically distinct from those who both 
ruled and owned them. Greece idealized 
the lusts of the flesh and worshiped its dis- 
orderly cravings, under the title of a divinity. 
Her selfishness and pride were gigantic. 
Rome, who, (as says the great Father Lac- 
ordaire), imitated more than she created, 
had in large measure the noble elements of 
Grecian civilization, but alas! the most de- 
praved features of Greece, were frightfully 
accentuated throughout the empire of Rome. 
How may we explain the limitations of the 
world's best work in the function of uplift- 
ing man? Beloved, the work of Greek and 
Roman civilization was the best which the 
world unaided could succeed in accomplish- 
ing, and the simple reason why more was 
not effected is, that to do more in the way of 
perfecting and developing the human being, 
the supernatural was required — some ele- 
ment superior to nature, which when acting 
upon it would assist it and raise it above it- 
self, and fill it with a power productive of ex- 
traordinary results. This new force would 
impel man not only to cultivate the rational 



The Supernatural Kingdom. 19 

faculties of his soul, to study and admire 
and love the true and the beautiful, but it 
would efficaciously assist him rightly to know 
and to adore God, to love justice and hate 
iniquity, to look upon all men as brothers, 
*o subdue lust to the reign of reason, to have 
<x most sacred regard for marriage, to appre- 
ciate properly his immortal soul and to be- 
come possessed of a profound conviction, that 
the care of that soul is incalculably more im- 
portant than any other of life's concerns. 

When that religion spread itself silently, 
almost insidiously over a degenerate civiliza- 
tion, it renewed the face of the earth; and 
a new moral universe was the result of it's 
conquest. A universal brotherhood was 
formed, in which men recognized each other 
as children of the one Father who is no re- 
specter of persons. " There is neither Jew 
nor Greek, there is neither male or female, 
there is neither bond or free, for you are all 
one." (1) Rome was surfeited with power 
and luxury, and there came into the imper- 
ial city, two messengers from out the east, 
— messengers from the regenerator of soci- 

(1) Gal. III. 28. 



ZK) Plain Sermons. 

ety, and with a simple eloquence, unlike the 
polished oratory of the forum, these men of 
mean degree, went about infusing the super- 
natural into a powerful and corrupt organ- 
ization. "The Lord thy God thou shalt 
adore, and Him only shalt thou serve" — (1) 
' 'Love thy neighbor as thyself. " (2) ' 'What 
will it profit a man if he gains the whole 
world but suffers the loss of his own soul?" 
(3) ' 'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is 
neither male nor female, there is neither 
bond or free , for you all are one. ' ' Such was 
the burden of their theme, and a mighty con- 
flict was inaugurated. All the furies of hell 
were let loose against the disciples of regen- 
eration. Fire and sword and every conceiv- 
able means of excruciating torture, were util- 
ized, and the blood of martyrs flowed in tor- 
rents; but there came a day, when after ages 
of apparent weakness, the organ of regener- 
ation sat triumphant in the palace of the 
Caesars, and that organ is the Church of 
Jesus Christ. The principle which kept 
her alive during three centuries of existence 

(1) Matt. IV. 10. 

(2) Matt. XIX. 19 

(3) Mark. VIII. 36. 



The Supernatural Kingdom. 21 

in the catacombs, which preserved her 
through the most barbarous and decimating 
persecutions, is the same that ensured her 
triumph, that rendered her a stable and un- 
changing kingdom, unlike any other that 
has figured in the drama of the world's his- 
tory; and that principle is the supernatural 
— the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit, the 
perennial residence of Jesus Christ in her 
midst. 

The fact of her permanency — her change- 
lessness in this "world of mire and change," 
should impress the thinking world without 
her fold, with the conviction that the prin- 
ciple of her vitality is other than natural. 
If these notes were realized in her, by virtue of 
faithful armed legions, stationed here and 
there throughout her empire, even then their 
continuity would be remarkable, but when an 
unprejudiced mind observes that the armed 
force of earthly potentates, the attacks of 
the keenest human intellects, together with 
the corruption and rebellion of many of her 
children from within , have in the course of 
ages effected simply nought against her ex- 
istence, then that mind I say, must pro- 



22 Plai?i Sermons. 

nounce her absolutely unique, and must 
seek the sources of her preservation else- 
where than in nature. 

When we cast our eyes upon the various 
sects claiming to be the kingdom of Christ 
upon earth, what a sad spectacle greets us. 
The most evident features of Protestantism, 
are, and have been from the beginning of its 
lamentable history, schism and disintegra- 
tion. The very basic principle of protestant 
systems, which makes every man a law, and 
I may say a religion to himself, is an all 
sufficient cause and explanation of this utter 
lack of union. The negation of the author- 
ity which is so fundamental in the Church 
of Christ, has at last achieved its natural re- 
sults in the sects calling themselves Chris- 
tians, namely, indifference towards revealed 
truth, and the spread of infidelity. What a 
melancholy transition, as we turn from the 
contemplation of the Catholic Church to that 
of the sects. On the one hand we behold 
the great historic Church stoutly maintain- 
ing and zealously guarding the deposit of 
faith, demanding and obtaining the most un- 
questioning obedience from her hundreds of 



The Supernatural Kingdom. 23 

millions of subjects. She is a veritable guide 
and ruler. On the other hand we observe 
nothing which seriously deserves the name 
of organization. We behold individual sin- 
cerity, probity and religious sense, but in 
the sects as presumably organized forms of 
Christianity, we meet with little serious ap- 
preciation of dogma, extreme divergencies of 
doctrine, and finally loose moral teaching of 
the most startling character. (l)It would seem 
that a calm unprejudiced view of the two sides 
of the picture would carry with it a convic- 
tion, that the Catholic Church alone pos- 
sesses a respectable claim to attention and 
submission on the part of men. 

Let us rejoice and be grateful that God 
out of His Infinite goodness has "gathered 
us from the nations," and has brought us 
into the "city of habitation," and let us al- 
ways manifest our appreciation of His be- 
neficence by strict conformity to the pre- 
cepts of our Mother the Church, and by 
availing ourselves of the means of spiritual 
strength which she places at our disposal. 

(1) This statement concerning loose moral teaching has 
relation to the general attitude of Protestant Churches to- 
wards the marriage bond. 



24 Plain Sermons, 

And let us not forget those without groping 
about for lack of spiritual light. Let us beg 
Jesus, the lover of souls, to " Enlighten those 
who sit in darkness and in the shadow of 
death , n ( 1 ) that they may find rest and light , 
and warmth, in the bosom of His spouse. 

(1) Luc. I. 79. 



FAITH. 

"And as they came down from the mountain, 
Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision 
to no man until the Son of Man be risen 
from the dead. " (1) 

The opening verses of the ninth chapter 
of the Gospel of St. Matthew tell a won- 
drous story. They are descriptive of an oc- 
casion, whereon the refulgent light of 
Christ's divinity, broke through its sordid 
habiliments of human nature, and shed a 
marvellous brilliancy round about him. He 
went up the mountain a man, apparently no 
more. He was Jesus, the carpenter's son; 
nought characterized His appearance espec- 
ially, save perhaps poverty and extreme 
simplicity; but lo! arriving at Thabor's 
summit the humble Nazarene sank from 
view, and the Divine Christ was enveloped in 
an aureola of His ancient glory. His gar- 
ments became whiter than snow, and glist- 
ened in the focus of His own glorious rays. 

(1) Matt. XVII, 9. 

(25) 



26 Plain Sermons. 

And above Him appeared a cloud more daz- 
zling in its brightness than the gorgeous 
mists of the east, suffused with crimson and 
gold — the glory of the rising sun — and from 
out that cloud came the testimony of the 
Eternal Father, proclaiming the divinity of 
the transfigured Savior, "This is my beloved 

I Son in whom I am well pleased, hear ye 

'Him." (2) 

The vision on Thabor suggests to us two 
things clearly observable from a careful pe- 
rusal of the New Testament. The first of 
these is the fact, that Christ did not habit- 
ually proclaim His divinity, and the second 
that some of the most remarkable manifesta- 
tions of His Divine character were hidden 
from all save a chosen few, as for instance, 
in the case of His Transfiguration. Jesus 
Christ stood before the Jews as the perfect 
fulfilment of type and prophecy. He gave 
all required proof by way of miracle, to estab- 
lish in their minds the divinity of His char- 
acter, and the consequent truth of His doc- 
trine. The Jews however were as Christ 
himself says, a wicked and perverse genera- 

(2) Ibid. 5. 



Faith. 27 

tion, clamoring for signs and wonders, and 
He declared that the signs which they songht 
should not be given them. They had lived 
amidst manifestations of the supernatural. 
These manifestations indeed, go to make up a 
very considerable portion of their history. 
They had been delivered miraculously from 
the tyranny of Pharaoh; the manna had 
fallen from God to them famishing in the 
trackless waste of the desert, the brazen ser- 
pent was for them a miraculous talisman; 
the wand of Moses struck the adamantine 
rock, and there gushed from its side a crys- 
tal stream of living water; and now they re- 
fused to acknowledge Jesus as the ' c Desired 
of Nations," unless He would startle them 
by prodigious performances, — unless He 
would amaze the nation, by wondrous man- 
ifestations of His power. This, Christ re- 
fused to do. He gave all sufficient evidence, 
and He was willing to give the grace neces- 
sary to accept that evidence, but He declin- 
ed to satisfy the morbid desire for signs and 
wonders. 

What was the underlying motive of 
Christ's action? Why did He hide from all 



28 Plain Sermons. 

save a chosen few, some of the greatest man- 
ifestations of His divinity? Why further, 
did He lay upon those chosen few an injunc- 
tion, that they should not propagate the tid- 
ings of those wonders which they had been 
privileged to behold? Why finally did He 
refuse to show Himself beyond the possibil- 
ity of doubt the Messiah? All this He did 
to teach us the nature of faith, and to em- 
phasize the merit of its act. 

Faith may be defined as a supernatural 
and theological virtue, whereby we firmly 
believe all that God has revealed, and be- 
cause of the authority of God revealing. It 
cannot exist in the soul save by supernatu- 
ral help; it is brought about by the direct 
action of God in the soul. It concerns it- 
self with supernatural truths, its primary 
object being of course God, and its motive 
is the Divine authority of God making a 
revelation. We believe then not because 
we may have an analytical comprehension 
of revealed truth, but because God has re- 
vealed it. Hence faith reduces the mind tc 
a sort of captivity, it "Bringeth into cap- 
tivity every understanding, to the obedience 



Faith. 29 

of Christ." (1) As regards the compre- 
hension of this or that revealed truth, the 
intellect may be simply blind, and indeed 
this is frequently the case, since faith re- 
quires the accepting of truths, which em- 
body mysteries utterly beyond human ken. 
The intellect naturally accepts a proposition 
when the exercise of judgment upon the 
proposition, has brought about a conviction 
of its truth. A theorem in mathematics for 
example, is proposed to me. I accept it only 
after I have reviewed and accepted the men- 
tal process, by which the theorem or proposi- 
tion is reached. The individual who wishes 
to convince another, will tell him to exam- 
ine and see for himself, in order that his con- 
viction may be reasonable. It is true that 
we often accept statements on the authority 
of others, but only after the worthiness of 
their testimony has been solidly established. 
The soul possessed of the virtue of faith how- 
ever, does not act thus. It accepts without 
any such process of judgment. Intrinsic evi • 
dence forms no part of its motive. It accepts 
as we have said because of God's authority 

(1) II. Cor. X. 5. 



30 Plain Sermons. 

infallible and absolutely secure. The mo- 
tives of credibility, (that is the reasons by 
which we may conclude, that such a truth 
is revealed and therefore credible), such as 
miracle and prophecy may be scrutinized 
and tested. They show the reasonableness 
of faith. It is their proper function to rend- 
er evident testimony, that this or that doc- 
trine should be accepted as revealed truth, 
but they can never form the motive of the 
act of faith itself, for if such were the case, 
then faith would depend upon motives which 
should render its exercise plausible to the 
human intellect. This would destroy the 
supernatural element in faith, and make the 
act of faith merely a mental conclusion. 
Faith therefor^ is not knowledge, or science, 
though between faith and science there is no 
opposition. Science is acquired by reason 
only: it is founded in natural evidence, 
whereas faith whether we consider it in the 
mode of its entrance into our soul, the ob- 
ject with which it concerns itself, or its mo- 
tive, is entirely supernatural. I do not know 
the Incarnation, nor the Trinity, much less 
could I give a scientific demonstration of 



Faith t 31 

either of these mysterious truths. I believe 
them however, with a certainty far higher 
and greater than that which science gives, 
because the source of all knowledge and 
truth, has revealed them to me through the 
organ of His revelation. Since faith is not 
science, one's faith cannot be measured by 
his intellectual attainments. Hence it is, 
that in the soul of an untutored savage, faith 
may be just as real and as living, as in the 
soul of the most cultured denizen of enlight- 
ened society. " Blessed are they who have 
not seen and have believed," (1) says Christ, 
and these words of the Redeemer give us a 
world of teaching on faith. " Seeing" will 
be the reward of faith, when faith shall blos- 
som into perfect cognition, when all inquiry 
and speculation shall be swallowed up in the 
fruition of the most abundant knowledge. 
The intellect of man shall be tested to its 
greatest capacity; it shall be filled with God. 
We need no trumpet-tongued angel to come 
down from heaven , surrounded by a glory 
native of his celestial home in the skies, to 
tell us that Jesus is God, and that He spake 

(1) John XX. 29. 



32 Plain Sermons. 

a true doctrine. We need not gaze upon 
the object of our love brilliantly transfigured 
upon the mountain-top, nor need we feast 
our eyes upon Him clad in the vesture of His 
glory, in order to offer Him our Homage and 
adoration. Such manifestations would de- 
stroy the merit of our faith, nay more, 
thus to behold Him, would destroy our faith 
itself, for it would give us the vision of the 
blessed. ' 'Now' ' says the apostle c 'through 
a glass , and in a dark manner, but then face 
to face." (1) Darkly, yes, we listen to the 
voice of Divine authority, we hear the mes- 
sage, and it overwhelms our poor little 
minds; — we cannot comprehend it, but we 
know that it is from God, and so inthelonli- 
ness of our hearts we bow submissively and 
say, "Lord, I believe." But "then face to 
face," what a ravishing consideration! We 
shall gaze upon the Ancient of Days seated 
upon the great White Throne of His majesty, 
surrounded by every circumstance of splen- 
dor. Gazing upon Him, we shall know His 
Infinite goodness, mercy , power, and shall be 
filled with the recognition of His perfection 
and amiability. 

(1) I Cor. XIII 12 



Faith. 33 

We live in an age when the lamp of faith 
has gone out in the souls of many, and when 
its flame flickers unsteadily in the souls of 
many more. This is true most particularly 
in the more educated classes of society, and 
it is in large measure due to the fact, that 
there is an unmistakable trend in the direc- 
tion of measuring the acceptance of religious 
truths, by the power of understanding them. 
This of course makes reason superior to re- 
vealed doctrine, and it means the rejection 
of the supernatural, in the act of faith. Many 
truths of revelation w r hich we are called upon 
to accept, reek with mystery, as I have al- 
ready said, and consequently can never be 
amenable to the judgment of poor human 
reason. The direc^results of the tendency 
mentioned above, are the repudiation of 
creed, and liberalism in religion. Intellect- 
ual freedom is the plea, and unbelief is the 
verdict. A large contingent of the learned 
protestant world, emerges from the study of 
philosophy today, shorn of all faith in Jesus 
Christ as God. The ideal of nineteen cen- 
turies is dethroned, and reason (helpless 
substitute), is set up in its place. There are 



34 Plain Sermons. 

hundreds of half instructed Catholics, who, 
sniffing a few breaths in an atmosphere of 
learning, arrive at the conviction, that 
their intellectual attainments are such as to 
cause the faith to loom up before their minds, 
bristling with difficulties insurmountable. 
Apart from the fact that a very considerable 
number of those who claim intellectual diffi- 
culties, are not capable of having any, by 
reason of limited capacity, or inadequate ed- 
ucation, it must never be lost sight of, that 
the Almighty does not intend that we should 
see the doctrines of our religion in the same 
manner as we comprehend the solution of a 
problem in mathematics. This we explain- 
ed sufficiently in describing the motive of 
the act of faith. * 

The most of modern scepticism is tracea- 
ble to the rebellion of the intellect conse- 
quent upon losing sight of the nature of faith 
as distinguished from science. The natural 
antecedents of this rebellion are the spirits of 
pride and sensuality. Moral decay tends to 
blunt the appreciation of the supernatural, 
and curiously enough , pride and immorality 
are boon companions in the human soul. 



Faith. 35 

When the soul is dominated by the notion, 
that a most desirable portion of lifes possible 
pleasures is obtainable by the gratification 
of the sensuous proclivities of the human 
heart, then the idea of eternal punishment 
for sin becomes intensely repugnant. The 
intellect is brought to bear on this and other 
truths of the faith, with a more or less dis- 
tinct view to conclude against them, and 
the full development of the process is the 
complete annihilation of religious belief. 

Though pride and sensuality are promi- 
nent causes, by which we may account in 
large measure for the decay of faith in souls, 
yet there is another, a cause equally potent 
perhaps, in producing the same baneful ef- 
fects, namely false or neglected education. 

Education adequately considered, compris- 
es the development of the moral and intel- 
lectual faculties of a human being, with that 
amount of care devoted to his body, neces- 
sary for the proper preservation of his health. 
His religious training can in no wise be sep- 
arated from his moral development. The 
highest sanction of moral law, is religious 
truth. For us who live in the light of faith, 



36 Plain Sermons, 

education concerns itself primarily with the 
truths of Christianity. They have for us an 
importance immeasurably greater than any- 
thing which deals with mere intellectual 
training. An intellectually trained man who 
lacks religion is a menace to society. Un- 
fortunately for us, there is a growing ten- 
dency to regard the religious element of ed- 
ucation as less important than the intellect- 
ual. Religious training is not only the 
principle factor in education, but it is it's 
regulator and guide. The relegation of re- 
ligious training to an inferior place in the 
scheme of education, is productive of two re- 
sults, namely, indifference regarding the 
tremendous importance of revealed truth 
and loss of faith, and of this loss rebellion 
against those moral restraints imposed by 
the christian law is a natural consequence. 
Though faith is indeed a title for our jus- 
tification, still of itself it will not justify. 
The devil has wrought so successfully 
amongst Christians, that numbers have faith 
without possessing justification. We see 
the results of such an anomalous state on 
every side. What wretched inconsistency 



Faith. 37 

do we behold in hundreds of Catholics, who 
loudly profess their faith, and yet who lead 
lives of palpable contradiction to its princi- 
ples. How intense and even edifying seems 
the faith of so mar y who are but poorly ad- 
vanced in sanctification. We find faith com- 
bined with profaneness, with pride, in short 
with almost complete indifference to moral 
law. 

I have observed during the course of this 
sermon, that where sensuous passion domi- 
nates a soul, there is danger to the faith of 
that soul; and the observation is beyond con- 
troversy , as the experience of those whose busi- 
ness it is to direct souls, amply testifies, yet, 
on the other hand, w r e find the faith seem- 
ingly unimpaired in sinners of the most de- 
praved type. Our eyes should be ever open 
to the fact, that no matter how intense our 
faith, it can never be the sole title for our 
eternal companionship with God. The faith 
must be in evidence in our conduct. Our 
blessed Savior tells us that crying out to the 
Lord cannot admit us to the light of God's 
blessed kingdom, but that it is further re- 
quired of us, that we do the will of His Fath- 



38 Plain Sermons, 

er Who is in Heaven. That Will as we know 
full well, is expressed in the law which em- 
anated from the mouth of God on Sinai ter- 
rible with its blinding flashes and reverberat- 
ing thunders. Faith must be enlivened by 
the love of God, which is the efficient cause 
of good works, and without these manifesta- 
tions of faith, our belief is of no more value 
to us, than a mere intellectual conviction; it 
is as the Apostle says 'dead.' "What shall 
it profit my brethren if a man say he hath 
faith, but not works? * * * Faith if it have 
not works is dead in itself." (1) Instead of 
being a title for our justifitation and salva- 
tion it becomes for us the reason of a deeper 
damnation, than could ever be our lot, had 
we never known faith, because, if our faith 
be not enlivened by works, we are in the 
wretched plight of those who knowing fully 
the moral consequences attaching to faith, 
wilfully ignore them. 

Let us ask ourselves how we value the in- 
estimable gift of faith? Do we first of all, 
believe without any suggestion of hesitation 
or doubt, knowing that faith and doubt are 

(1) St. James, II, 14, 16, 



Faith. 39 

incompatible in a soul? Do we surrender 
our understanding most generously to that 
captivity which St. Paul calls the obedience 
of faith — accepting with thanksgiving all that 
God proposes to us, through the Church, 
the organ of His revelation, and "the pillar 
and ground of truth ? " ( 1 ) Are we profound- 
ly grateful for that supernatural illumination, 
which the Angelic Doctor calls the germ of 
our eternal glory? Let us endeavor so to ap- 
preciate our faith, that our best energies 
shall be expended in the direction of making 
our lives mirror our beliefs. Let us strive 
to live as men and women walking in the full 
light of supernatural truth, humbly remem- 
bering however that God's beneficence has 
chosen us from amongst millions, thus mak- 
ing us the particular objects of His selection, 
in order to bestow this priceless boon of faith 
upon us, and through no merit of ours. 
"Many shall come from the east and west, 
and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac 
and Jacob in the kingdom of Heaven." (2) 
We, beloved, have received the call to sit 

(1) Tim. Ill, 15. 

(2) Matt. VIII, II. 



40 Plain Sermons. 

down in God's kingdom. Let us praise and 
bless the Lord for His goodness. Supplicate 
Him that we may avail ourselves of our in- 
effable privileges. Let us also be mindful of 
those without in the dark, who are turn- 
ing wistful gazes towards God's blessed city. 
Lead these, O Lord, into the city of habita- 
tion. God grant that when our pilgrimage 
nears its close, we may be able to say with 
blessed Paul, U I have fought the good fight, 
I have kept the faith." (1) Then shall we 
be entitled to behold Jesus our love, arrayed 
in brighter splendor than that which envel- 
oped Him on Thabor's height, for we shall 
see him clad in the vesture of that wondrous 
majesty, that matchless splendor and glory, 
which were His before the world was, and in 
company with those blessed spirits that group 
themselves about His throne, in company 
with all that blessed throng, His by the 
blood which ran adown the wood, and nur- 
tured Golgotha's soil— the martyrs, the con- 
fessors, the virgins, the chastened sinners 
and the little ones of His kingdom, we shall 
praise Him forever and ever. 

(1) II Tim. IV, 7. 



THE CHURCH THE ORGAN OF 
REVELATION. 

"And if he will will not hear the Church 
let him be to thee as a heathen and a publican. ' ' 

Matt. XVIII, 17. 

It is unquestionably evident to the most 
casual reader of tlie New Testament, that 
Christ meant to disseminate the benefits of 
His mission, by means of an organization 
known as the Church. He chose for the 
furthering, the continuation of His work, 
to establish a society which would unite men 
together in a huge family . Membership in 
this family, according to the Divine words, 
was to be a title to participation in the fruits 
of the Redemption. This sacred brother- 
hood was to be altogether unique and the 
chief est bonds of union, were to be oneness 
of faith and charity. 

' ' Going therefore , ' ' says Christ to His 
first ministers, " teach ye all nations — bap- 
tizing them in the name of the Father and 

(41) 



42 Plain Sermons. 

of the Son and of the Holy Ghost; teaching 
them to observe all things whatsoever I 
have commanded yon." (1) "He that 
believeth and is baptized shall be saved — he 
that believeth not shall be condemmed." 
(2) Let ns examine the words of our Lord 
in order to be penetrated by a conviction as 
to their conseqnences. "As the Father sent 
me I also send you." (3) That is U I 
constitute you my executors." By the ex- 
ercise of His boundless power, He could 
have conveyed the message of His truth, 
directly to each and every soul. One act of 
His will would have been all sufficient, to 
bring about this wondrous result, yet in His 
Divine wisdom, He deemed it expedient to 
do otherwise. "With the same power as 
that by which my Eternal Father has sent 
me into the world", (so we may paraphrase 
the text) "so do I send you to carry my 
Gospel before the nations of the earth. I 
constitute you the teachers of all nations. 
Teach them to observe all things which I 
have commanded you. Hence Teach my 

1. Matt. XX VIII, 19, 20. 

2. Mar. XVI, 16. 

3. Joan. XX, 21. 



The Church the Orga?i of Revelation. 43 

Gospel. Preach not what to your individual 
intellects may seem Divine truth; but My 
Gospel My moral code. From your lips 
then shall the nations hear My Message. 
Ye shall teach and they shall sit at your 
feet as pupils and learn the lesson of eternal 
life". From the words of Christ, all possi- 
bility of another organ of His revelation is 
excluded; and there is not so much as the 
shadow of an indication that Christ wished 
to reveal His Doctrines directly and immedi- 
ately to the individual soul. When the 
Divine Teacher said: " Going therefore, 
teach all nations," He excluded the idea of 
the individual teaching Himself, or seeking 
by Himself the deposit of faith — the revealed 
doctrines once delivered to the Apostles. 
Such a method of arriving at the knowledge 
of His revelation could never have been in 
the plan of Jesus Christ , for it would render 
the appointing of teachers for the nations, 
not only unnecessary, but preposterous. St. 
Paul in his letter to the Ephesians declares 
that the desire of Christ is "That, we all 
meet in the unity of faith and knowledge of 
the Son of God, — that henceforth we be no 



44 Plain Sermons. 

more children tossed to and fro, and carried 
about by every wind of doctrine. " (1) The 
idea of a teaching Church, — an organ, an 
interpreter of revelation, is then funda- 
mental in the New Testament. Prot- 
estants, though adhering to the idea of a 
Christian Church, nullify its mission, by 
insisting upon the right of private 
judgement, which might be termed 
the key-stone of Protestantism itself. The 
theory of private interpretation of God's 
Word clearly undermines the teaching 
authority of the Church and in large measure, 
renders a church superfluous. The Acts of 
the Apostles and the Epistles of Sts. Peter, 
John, Paul, Jude and James, furnish us 
with abundant information regarding the 
manner in which the Apostles preached 
Christianity; and the most pronounced 
feature of their preaching was insistence up- 
on submission on the part of those to whom 
they addressed themselves. "We give 
thanks to God, n says St. Paul, " without 
ceasing because when ye had received from 
us the word of hearing, which is of God, ye 
1. Eph. IV, 13, 14. 



The Church the Organ of Revelation. 45 

received it not as the word of men, but (as 
it is indeed) the word God." (1) In an- 
other place the same Apostle writes, "He 
who despiseth these things despiseth not 
man bnt God, who hath given in us His 
Holy Spirit." (2) These words are not 
startling or remarkable to the mind of him 
who has pondered the words of Christ to 
His Apostles, "He that heareth youheareth 
me; he that despiseth you despiseth me, and 
he that despiseth me despiseth Him that 
sent me." (3) St. Peter assures us that 
the difficulties of St. Paul's epistles are 
such that the unlearned and unstable wrest 
them, as they do the other scriptures, to 
their own destruction. (4) There is no- 
where to be found the merest hint or sugges- 
tion of submitting the teaching of Christ to 
the individual mind. "How shall they hear 
without a preacher," says the Apostle, 
" Faith cometh by hearing," (5) not there- 
fore by the exercise of private judgment. 
Strange indeed, Beloved, that the Spirit of 
God should inspire private searchers with 

1. 1 Thes. II, 13. 3. Luc. X, 16. 

2. ibid. IV, 8. 4. 2 Pe. Ill, 16. 

5. Rom. X, 15; 17. 



46 Plain Sermons. 

religious conclusions both at variance with, 
and in opposition to, one another, and that 
all should be considered truth. Strange 
too, beyond all explanation, that men the 
most ignorant, who can hardly gather the 
ideas of a news item, should be able to com- 
prehend unaided, all that is necessary in the 
supernatural order; — I say advisedly un- 
aided, for nowhere did Christ promise to 
teach otherwise than through His Church. 
The reading of Scripture, the principal 
fount of revelation, is a holy action. It con- 
duces to the benefit of one's soul; but only 
when guided by that authority against 
which the "gates of hell, ' ' that is the powers 
of darkness, the shadows of error, shall 
never prevail. A knowledge of Christ's 
revelation, adequate and secure, and an 
assent to the same, is simply outside the 
reach of individual effort. Some souls are 
saved, it is true, without a detailed know- 
ledge of the faith of Jesus Christ; and with- 
out an explicit assent to all His doctrines, 
but this is realized only where honesty and 
sincerity supply the deficiency. The most 
palpable effect of the propaganda of indivi- 



The Church the Organ of Revelation. 47 

dual interpretation, of self teaching, (if I 
may be allowed the expression), is seen in 
the mnltiform ramifications of Protestantism. 
It is not only a fact acknowledged on all 
hands, that the grand divisions of Protestan- 
tism differ from each other on doctrinal 
matters of grave importance, — (each claim- 
ing however the possession of truth, yet 
curiously enough, repudiating the idea of 
church-infallibility,) but it is likewise true, 
that within the bosom of each sect, there 
exist the most startling divergencies of be- 
lief concerning most important portions of 
Christ's revelation. The rejection of a 
church as the sole guardian and custodian 
of revelation, and as the sole teacher and 
guide of men in the matter of faith, is fast 
achieving its logical result in the melancholy 
spread of infidelity. There is a wave of in- 
differentism sweeping over the country and 
causing a veritable epidemic of unbelief in 
the Divine character of Christ, and con- 
sequently in the Divine authority of His 
teaching. The gospel is regarded by many 
who call themselves Christians, simply as a 
wonderful literature, embodying a high 



48 Plain Sermons. 

moral teaching. Again there is a large 
number of Christians, (so called at least), 
whose appreciation of revealed doctrine 
amounts to little beyond the acceptance of a 
few of the fundamental truths of Christianity, 
and whose religion is simply a sort of phil- 
anthropy and benevolence. 

Let us briefly study the authority of the 
Church somewhat more in detail. That she 
must possess a certain authority, flows 
necessarily from the words of our Lord send- 
ing His Apostles as teachers. How are they 
sent?- — u As the Father sent me so I send 
you." Hence they go to the fufillment of 
their mission by the authority of Jesus 
Christ. Armed with that same authority, 
with which the Father invested Him, they 
go forth to command attention and sub- 
mission. "He that heareth you heareth 
me. n u He that despiseth you despiseth 
me." " He that will not hear the Church, 
let him be to thee as a heathen and a pub- 
lican. " (1) The very notion of teacher 
imports the idea of some authority, but the 
fact of Divine appointment — the bestowal on 

1. Matt. XVIII, 17. 



7 he Church the Organ of Revelation. 49 

the part of God himself, of a commission to 
teach, means such a teaching authority as 
cannot be disregarded, save by contemning 
Divine authority itself The Apostles were 
therefore commissioned as rulers and teach- 
ers at the same time. The concept of an 
organized Church, such as Christ clearly 
ment to establish, includes the notion of 
authority, otherwise there would not be the 
slightest guarantee against disruption, dis- 
integration and ruin. Furthermore, He 
gave His Apostles powers, the confering of 
which is intelligible only upon the suppos- 
ition of such authority as I am maintaining. 
Says Christ to Peter: "To thee will I give 
the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven" — 
Whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall 
be bound in Heaven," (1) and further- 
more to all the Apostles gathered together — 
" whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall 
be bound in Heaven." (2) St. Paul ex- 
poses the duty of Christians regarding 
Church authority in his letter to the 
Hebrews. u Remember your prelates who 
have spoken the word of God to you, — whose 

1. ibid. XVI; 19. 2. Matt. XVIII, 18. 



50 Plain Sermons. 



faith follow. " " Be not led astray," says he, 
"with various and strange doctrines^ — Obey 
your prelates, and be subject to them."(l) 
The idea of a teaching and ruling authority 
in the Church, is just as fundamental in 
the Gospels, as is the notion of an institu- 
tion known as the Christian Church itself. 
One necessarily flows from the other. For 
Jesus Christ would have sent His teachers 
into the world but half epuipped, if He had 
not invested them with power to command. 

Our Divine Lord came upon earth, not 
for one generation or one people. He came 
for all times and all peoples. This is 
evident from the words which I have quoted 
several times during the course of this 
sermon. 4 ' Preach to all nations , n " Every 
creature , " "I am with you all days . n ( 2 ) 
We conclude from this, dearly beloved, that 
the Church with all the essential elements 
of its constitution is just to-day, w T hat it was 
when He founded it: and one of these 
essential elements in its constitution, with- 
out which the Church is truly unthinkable, 
is authority . 

1. Heb. XIII, 7, 8, 17. 2. Matt. XVIII, 21. 



The Church the Organ of Revelatio?i. 51 

This Church, can never become inefficient 
for the fulfilment of its mission, since Christ 
is with it continually; " Behold I am with 
you always;" and again, He promised that 
the powers of evil should never bring about 
its destruction. Hence it will not only 
always exist, but it will exist with the same 
degree of competency as that which char- 
acterized it in the beginning. It will never 
deviate from the path of truth; it will always 
preach and teach the Gospel which it receiv- 
ed from its Divine Founder. The revelation 
of Jesus Christ, and that alone, will form 
the burden of its message to men. It will 
remain ever faithful to the original purity 
of Christ's truth, and consequently it will 
never lead men astray. All this flows 
logically from the promise of the Saviour to 
make His presence in the Church perennial, 
and His assurance that it is firmly built up- 
on a rock, and is immune from the powers 
of hell. If He is in the Church, He is active 
in its interest, ever watchful for its welfare, 
and the preservation of its original truth- 
fulness is of primary importance in that 
welfare. Further than this, if for a little 



52 Plain Sermons. 

while, the Church could teach its children 
erroneously, the promise of her Founder 
that the powers of error should never prevail 
against her, would become null and void. 
When about to leave His Church upon 
earth, as far as His visible presence was 
concerned, He made a promise which guar- 
anteed her infallibility, "When He the 
Spirit of Truth is come, He will teach you 
all truth." (1) If the spirit of truth 
dwelleth in the bosom of the Church, and if 
He will abide with it forever, ever active in 
teaching us all truth, then, those whose 
happy lot is cast within the fold need have 
no fear of being ' 'tossed about, to and fro, 
and carried away by every wind of false 
doctrine." The Church then, Beloved, 
which Christ established for the benefit of 
men, as the means to lead them to the ful- 
fillment of their ultimate destiny, rejoices in 
authority, indefectibility and infallibility. 

A Church not in possession of these 
attributes cannot be the expositor of the 
revelation of Jesus Christ. She would not 
be a secure guide, she could give no guar- 

1. Joan, XVI, 13. 



The Church the Organ of Revelation, 53 

antee that she possessed the power of lead- 
ing men aright, hence she would be mani- 
festly inefficient, for the fulfillment of 
Christ's intention in establishing His 
Church. And as you know, Beloved, no 
church claims these attributes save that one 
to which by an ineffable grace we belong. 
The idea of an infallible teaching authority, 
is repudiated by every phase of Protestan- 
tism, and as regards indefectibility, I should 
say that the obvious disintegration of Pro- 
testantism is a sufficient proof that it has no 
capacity for continued organized existence. 
On the other hand we see our Holy Mother, 
the Catholic Church, stoutly maintaining 
and proving to the world the possession of 
these three great attributes, which are the 
results of Christ's establishing a church at 
all. She maintains to-day what she main- 
tained in the days of Paul. She has never 
shifted her position, nor can she, for she is 
rendered immovable by the power that built 
her up. She is old but the traces of age 
are not visible upon her face; the stamp of 
eternal youth is upon her brow. She has 
struggled against fearful odds; she has seen 



54 Plain Sermons. 

much affliction, nay she has felt it; perecuted 
from without for three centuries during 
which the blood of her children flowed in 
mighty torrents, " touched " as says 
Lacoidaire, "by every power during two 
thousand years, scrutinized by every science, 
cursed by every blasphemy, yet she remains 
the most colossal fact that the world knows 
of." u Who is this that cometh from Edom, 
with dyed garments from Bosra, this beauti- 
ful one in his robe walking in the greatness 
of his strength. * * * Why is thy apparel 
red, and thy garments like theirs that tread 
the wine press? I have trodden the wine 
press alone." (1) She is in very truth 
"That Rock against which the proud gates 
of hell shall not prevail . n ( 2 ) Says the Count 
de Maistre, " Between heaven and earth this 
marvel has been suspended for eighteen 
centuries; if you do not see it what would you 
see?" Yes Beloved, what would you see? 
Hanging in mid-air, so to speak, in view 
of the entire world, its credentials are palpable 
to all who would but look, and they pro- 
claim the Church invincible — Divine. 

I. Isais, IyXIII, 1, 2, 3. 2. Aug. De Civitate Dei. 



THE HOLY EUCHARIST. 

"Bgo sum panis vilae." 
' 'I am the bread of life." 

1 Joan VI, 46. 

It is with, a deep sense of His own unwor- 
tliiness and incapability that the minister of 
God should approach the task of exposing 
any doctrine of revealed religion; for if he 
reflects but a little, he realizes that he stands 
between God and his creature man, and 
that in preaching God's word, he is in very 
truth. God's ambassador. If this sense of 
unworthiness and incapability should find 
place in his soul no matter what portion of 
revelation be his theme, how completely 
should he be dominated by this conscious- 
ness, when his subject is the presence of Jesus 
Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar, a 
most central fact of Christianity, the heart 
and soul of the Church. It is a subject the 
very mention of which should cause the 
heart of the Christian to pulsate with joyous 
emotion, for it illustrates more clearly than 

(55) 



56 Plain Sermo?is. 

aught else, how near to us is Jesus; it con- 
vinces us more than every thing else, of His 
ineffable love for our poor souls , and it in- 
spires us above all things else, with un- 
questioning confidence in His goodness and 
mercy. 

It is the habitual custom of our Blessed 
Saviour to teach great truths with majestic 
simplicity. This characteristic is most 
palpable both in the words whereby He 
promised the eucharistic presence, and those 
with which He instituted it. Few if an}f of 
the chapters that make up the New Testa- 
ment are more striking than the sixth 
chapter of the Hoty Gospel of St. John. 
The wonderful description of feeding the 
multitude with the five loaves and two fishes; 
of Christ walking upon the waters; the ser- 
mon on faith and its effects in the souls of 
men; and finally the astounding promise of 
Jesus Christ, that He would give His flesh 
and blood for spirtual food and drink — all 
these, I say, render this chapter one of the 
most remarkable in the inspired volume. In 
the thirty-fifth verse of this chapter, Christ 
declares Himself to be the bread of life. c 'I 



The Holy Eucharist. 57 

am the bread of life. ' ' He speaks, however, 
but in a figure; "He that comethtome shall 
not hunger; he that belie veth in me shall 
never thirst . " ( 1 ) He then discourses upon 
faith in Himself and its great reward. Con- 
cluding His words upon faith in the forty- 
seventh verse, He begins a new member of 
His discourse with the words, "I am the 
bread of life," but the figure has died upon 
His lips, and He speaks in a most realistic 
manner of eating His flesh and drinking 
His blood, "I am the living bread which 
came down from Heaven." "If any man 
eat of this bread; he shall live forever; and 
the bread which I will give is my flesh for 
the life of the world." (2) His hearers are 
astounded. They are aware that He speaks 
no longer in metaphor, and they find His 
declaration repugnant; they are (if I may 
dare use the expression) disgusted. Striv- 
ing among themselves the Jews ask, "How 
can this man give us His flesh to eat." (3) 
"This saying is hard, and who can hear it. "(4) 

1 Joan, VI, 36. 

2 Ibid, 51, 52. 
.3 Ibid, 53. 

4 Ibid, 61. 



58 Plai7i Sermons, 

So very startling were His words that 
some who had been His disciples deserted 
Him and walked no more with Him. Did 
Christ tnrn to those misguided souls, who 
were wandering from the source of light and 
truth, and tell them apologetically that He 
spake but in a figure? Far from it. He 
simply asks the Twelve if they too will go . 
"Amen, amen, I say to you, except you eat 
the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His 
blood, you shall not have life in you." (1) 
"My flesh is meat indeed and my blood is 
drink indeed." (2) Far from apologizing 
Beloved, He intensifies and emphasizes what 
He had said before, nay, more, He declares 
the eating of His flesh a necessary condition 
for the possession of spiritual life. There is 
absolutely nothing in the whole context, to 
allow us to conclude that Our Blessed Lord 
desired to explain away or rentrench any- 
thing that he had said, and the declaration 
that His ' ' flesh is verily and indeed meat, ' ' 
and His "blood verily and indeed drink," 

ljoan VI, 54. 
2 Ibid, 56. 



The Holy Eucharist. 59 

precludes forever the figurative interpretation 
of Christ's expression. Such words would 
have been a lie upon the lips of Divine 
Truth if they were meant to convey a figure of 
speech. It would have been most incon- 
gruous and utterly misleading on the part of 
Christ to associate a figurative meaning 
with such expressions. Christ's aim in 
assuming human nature, was to call sinners 
to repentance, and afford to men an oppor- 
tunity of achieving salvation from which 
they had been excluded by the infidelity of 
our first parents. The Saviour's life and 
particularly His death, amidst all the horrors 
of Golgotha, show forth the ardor and love 
with which He prosecuted the end He had 
in view. How inconsistent then with His 
purpose, how inexplicable in the light of 
His boundless love for the souls of men, 
was His apparent indifference to those of His 
disciples who "went back and walked no 
more with Him," if He intended to speak 
only in a figure, the dreadful realism of 
which shocked them? No, beloved, the 
Redeemer was dreadfully in earnest when 
promising to His disciples the institution of 



60 Plai?i Sermons. 

that heavenly banquet, that has been the joy 
and comfort of the Church during the nine- 
teen hundred years of her existence. It has 
been the fortitude of her martyrs, the food 
for which the saints have famished, the 
bread of angels, the wine that springeth 
virgins, the true Pasch of which the old was 
but a figure, nay, the merest shadow. 

We naturally look for a fulfillment of these 
wondrous words, whereby Our Blessed Lord 
promised to feed us with His flesh and blood, 
and the fulfillment is not far to seek. The 
scene is laid in the cenacle, and it is the eve 
of that sublimest of dramas, most awful of 
tragedies. The Saviour is seated with His 
beloved apostles for the last time. We can 
fancy without any stretch of imagination, 
the wistful expressions of fear and expect- 
ancy upon the faces of those beloved ones 
who had shared His joys and sorrows during 
His entire public life, and now were about 
to lose Him. His heart was bursting with 
love, and He desired to leave them some 
memorial, some token of His infinite charity, 
whereby they would remember Him in His 
death. All things lay within His choice. 



The Holy Eucharist. 61 

The most precious treasures hidden within 
the bosom of the earth, nay more, the gift 
of empires and kingdoms, all these were 
absolutely within His power. But the gift 
which He desired to leave as a memorial 
must adequately represent His limitless love 
for the souls of men, and this could not be 
realized unless He gave them the best in 
His power. " Jesus took bread, and blessed 
and broke, and gave to his disciples and 
said: This is my body— take ye and eat." 
And taking the chalice He gave thanks, 
and gave to them, saying: " Drink ye 
all of this, for this is my blood." (1) 
The mind is overwhelmed at the con- 
templation of these wondrous expressions. [ 
Mystery of faith! A God gives Himself — 
surrenders Himself to His unworthy crea- 
tures, in the guise of one of the lowliest 
supports of animal life. O mystery of 
Divine condescension? O abysmal depths 
of Divine love! If the great Bernadin of 
Sienna had reason to cry out despairingly "I 
know not with what praises I can rightly 
extol thee, O Mary;" with how much greater 

1 Matt. XXVI, 26, 27. 



62 Plain Sermons. 

cause niay we exclaim, who will describe the 
self abasement, the wondrous charity of 
Jesus Christ in the Eucharistic Sacrament? 
His delight is to be with the children of 
men, and how strikingly does He gratify 
this craving in the Sacrament of the Altar. 
What sort of union is that which Jesus 
Christ establishes between Himself and the 
soul of man in this sacrament? Closer by 
far than that which exists between the hearts 
of friends; closer by far than that which 
unites a husband to his spouse, for it is a 
union whereby He becomes our very food 
and drink, whereby we become part of Him 
and he of us; a union in fine which allows 
the Christian soul to say in very truth: "I 
live now not I, but Christ liveth in me." 
(1) That ineffable love which prompted 
the heart of the Redeemer to this wondrous 
condescension was not satisfied that its 
fruits should be the boon of those beloved 
ones who sat about the table eating with 
Him the last Pasch. Looking with pro- 
phetic eyes down through the ages, He be- 
held countless millions, whom He loved 

1 Gal. II, 20. 



The Holy Eucharist. 63 

with the same ardor as that which character- 
ized His charity for His apostles. And in 
order that this mighty throng might possess 
this same source of spiritual nourishment, 
He lays upon His first priests a command- 
ment, that they should continue the 
mysteries which He had just enacted: — M Do 
this, says He to His apostles, for a com- 
memoration of me." (1) That is to say, do 
what I have done. Change bread and wine 
into my body and blood. Continue in an 
unbloody and mystic manner the sacrifice 
which I shall offer on the morrow upon 
Gologotha's bloody altar. Pour out upon 
the nations, the torrent of my blood, feed 
them with my flesh until I come. From 
that moment, beloved, began the sacrifice 
of that clean oblation so beautifully described 
by the prophet Malachy. "I have no 
pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts; 
and I will not receive a gift from your hands. 
For from the rising of the sun even to the 
going down, my name is great among the 
Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, 
and there is offered to my name a clean 

1 Luc XXII, 19. 



64 Plai?i Sermons. 

oblation; for my name is great among the 
Gentiles said the Lord of hosts." (1) How 
literally is this prophecy fulfilled, for verily 
there is sacrifice in every place. Whether 
! it be in the centres of civilization and 
culture, or amidst barbarous and savage 
hordes, or upon the bleak expanse of desert 
land, everywhere the clean oblation, the 
mystic sacrifice of the body and blood of 
Jesus Christ has been offered, and the name 
of Jehovah has been rendered great. Such 
is daily the case upon our altars, and when 
we cease the morning sacrifice, it is offered 
and renewed again and again in other por- 
tions of this revolving sphere "from the 
rising of the sun until the going down." 

O beloved, did we but know our treasure 
in this marvelous sacrifice, in which Christ 
is not only the object of our love and adora- 
tion, but our very food, our souls would be 
filled with continuous rapture. u He hath 
made a memorial of his wonderful works — 
being a merciful and a gracious Lord. He 
hath, given food to them that fear Him. "(2) 

1 Mai. I, 10, 11. 

2 Ps. CX, 4, 5. 



The Holy Eticharist. 65 

The Sacrifice of the Mass and consequent 
presence of Jesns Christ in our sanctuaries, 
entail moral conseqiiences upon those who 
know by faith this eucharistic presence. 
These moral consequences take the form of 
duties to the Sacramental God. They might 
be considered readily under many heads, 
but may be profitably summed up under 
the titles of adoration, communion, love and 
reparation. 

Adoration, because in the little disc which 
seems such an insignificant trifle in the 
hands of the priest, we recognize the Infinite 
majesty, power, greatness and absolute per- 
fection of God. These utterly inanimate 
and powerless signs veil the entire person- 
ality of Jesus Christ, God like the Father. 
Hence we adore, we prostrate ourselves, we 
burn incense, we offer to this august sacra- 
ment of the New Law, the supreme honor, 
which the angels pay to the Triune God 
seated upon the throne of His splendor and 
majesty.. 

If we have in mind the motive of Jesus 
Christ in instituting the Blessed Sacrament, 
we cannot but conclude that communion 



66 Plain Sermons. 

must be among our most prominent duties. 
"If any man eat of this bread," says Christ, 
"he shall live forever." (1) "He that 
eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath 
everlasting life." (2)Our Blessed Lord in- 
sists most unmistakably upon the eating of 
His flesh, as the most prominent end He 
had in view in instituting this wondrous dis- 
1 pensation of grace. He not only invites and 
exhorts us to feed at this heavenly banquet, 
but insists in a most stringent manner that 
participation in this Divine food is a neces- 
sary condition for the possession of spiritual 
life. "Except you eat the flesh of the Son 
of man, you shall have no life in you." (3) 
Most closely does He identify Himself with 
the worthy communicant. "As the living 
Father sent one and I live by the Father, so 
he that eateth me, the same shall live by 
me." (4) He does not limit His invita- 
tion to this feast, nay, it is with a sort of 
abandon that He surrenders Himself to His 
creatures. Hence we are forced into the 

1 Joan. VI, 52. 

2 Ibid, 55. 

3 Ibid. 

4 Joan VI, 58, 



The Holy Eucharist. 67 

conviction that in bestowing upon us this 
wondrous boon, Christ desired more than 
aught else that union with us, which is 
effected only by sacramental communion. 

What shall we say of the duty of love? 
We do not speak here of that love which is 
.due to Our Blessed Lord by virtue of the 
fact that, as God He is infinitely amiable and 
hence worthy of all our heart's love. Here 
we are considering that love to which He 
has a special title because of His institution 
of the Sacrament of the Altar. It is that love 
which has its foundation in gratitude. The 
world, though cold and irreligious, though 
indulgent for the most part to the foibles, 
follies and sins of the human heart, loathes 
an ungrateful man. The heart that remains 
frozen under the warm touch of kindness, 
that knows nothing of tender appreciation of 
benefits and blessings received, is repudiated 
by the voice of nature independently of 
religion. And we see the reasonableness of 
such a loathing and such a repudiation. If 
then we must kiss the hand that blesses us; 
if we must meet kindness with kindness; 
who shall tell . the nature of our debt 



68 Plain Sermons. 

to Jesus Christ for the institution of 
the sacrament of love. Love begets love, 
and the love begotten is qualified in large 
measure by the love which is its cause. 
Our Blessed Saviour was not satisfied with 
exchanging the vesture of His glory, for 
the miserable habiliments of human nature 
in order to manifest His love for us. He 
was not content to live a life begun in the 
circumstances of poverty, continued first in 
humblest seclusion, and then in the midst 
of persecution, contumely, misrepresenta- 
tion, and terminated in deepest degrada- 
tion. All this did not satisfy- the cravings 
of His boundless love. It was necessary 
that he should exhaust His Divine resources 
(if so I may speak) by bestowing His own 
sweet self upon us. Had we all the ardor 
of thrones, dominations, cherubim and ser- 
aphim, w r e could not offer in return a love 
which would be remotely adequate. The 
fact that we are unable to offer to Jesus in 
the Blessed Sacrament a fitting tribute of 
love is easy of comprehension, poor little 
creatures that we are, so weak and so limit- 
ed; but how inexplicable the fact that we 



The Holy Eiccharist, 69 

are almost indifferent, nay, many of us 
actually so, to the eucharistic presence of 
our Redeemer. He lias reduced Himself to 
our level, He lias lowered Himself to the 
common-place for us, and we in turn despise 
Him. He assumes the role of an humble 
pleader, asking us to take Him into our 
hearts, and to give Him our love in return 
for inestimable graces, and a guarantee of 
eternal life, and we turn a deaf ear to 
His entreaties. Alas! the ingratitude, the 
coldness, the indifference to Jesus upon His 
sacramental throne, is almost as difficult of 
comprehension as the unspeakable bounty 
realized in the Blessed Sacrament itself. 

Reparation! How clear its necessity. 
Who will enumerate the insults and injuries 
which Christ receives in this Sacrament at 
the hands of unfaithful Christians, by their 
neglect and coldness, but worse than all, by 
their sacrilegious traffic in the all pure blood 
of the Lamb of God? The malice of the 
soul who is willing to imprison the body and 
blood of Jesus Christ in a polluted dwelling 
house, surely equals the treason of the 
Iscariot. And yet we know that this be- 



70 Plain Sermons. 

trayal is committed in our midst. Thanks 
to God this monstrous iniquity is far from 
common, but the lesser sins against this 
mystery of love are without number; external 
disrespect, by the omission of those acts 
with which we should greet Jesus in the 
Blessed Sacrament on coming into His 
presence, by acts of positive irreverance, or 
finally by desertion; for often it is only the 
tiny glimmer of the sanctuary lamp that 
does Him honor. Weeks and months and 
years we sacrifice in burning incense at the 
altar of mammon, and we find it difficult 
to steal a few little moments from the noise 
and bustle of the world and the distraction 
of its interests, to whisper our love to Jesus 
Christ, who watches through the long hours 
of the day, and the drear vigils of the night, 
waiting for His beloved ones to come and 
adore and receive of the abundance of His 
goodness. 

Beloved, let us inspect our consciences 
with severity, to find out the measure of our 
infidelity to Jesus in the Sacrament of His 
love. Have we adored with frequency and 
reverence? Have we famished for this bread of 



The Holy Eucharist. 71 

life, and have we zealously striven to share the 
bounty of this heavenly banquet frequently 
and worthily? Have we loved? Have we 
offered our poor hearts such as they are to 
Jesus in return for His measureless gener- 
osity? Have we sent up acts of contrition 
and reparation for the multitudinous sins of 
men against the Blessed Sacrament? Alas, 
our scrutiny will reveal many shortcomings 
even in the souls of the fervent. Let us 
endeavor to know what should be our rela- 
tions to our Redeemer in this institution, 
this greatest dispensation of His mercy. 
And let us ask Him in this sacrament where- 
in He is so nigh unto us, to illumine our 
minds and move our poor stolid hearts, that 
we may understand in some little measure 
His love, and endeavor to appreciate it. In 
this sacrament, we have the cure of every 
species of moral leprosy, the main source of 
spiritual strength, of fortitude and fervor, 
and the truest guarantee of eternal life. "If 
any man eat of this bread he shall live for- 
ever.'' "He that eateth my flesh and 
drinketh my blood hath everlasting life and 
I will raise him up on the last day." 



THE SAINTS OF GOD. 

"L,et us now praise men of renown * * * 
men of mercy, whose godly deeds have not 
failed. Good things continue with their seed. 
* * * Their name liveth unto generation 
and generation. * * Let the people show 
forth their wisdom, and the church declare 
their praise." (1) 

One of the most ancient as well as one of 
the noblest customs recorded in the world's 
annals is that of honoring her great men. 
One of the most ancient because we find it 
in the early morn of the world's history; one 
of the noblest, since its final cause or motive 
is to hold up virtue and great achievement 
for our admiration and imitation. The 
names of Homer, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, 
Pericles, Alexander, Caesar, Hortentius, 
Cicero, Horace, Virgil, Charlemagne, Dante, 
Angelo, Rafael, Shakespeare, Milton, and a 
thousand others, are all emblazoned in the 
temple of Fame. These men live in history 
as the world's great thinkers and warriors; 
singers and painters. 

•lEcclusXIvIX. 

(72) 



The Sai?its of God. 73 

The church, too, honors her great men and 
her heroes. From the inception of the ec- 
clesiastical year until its close, every day 
the saints of the church are the theme of her 
praise and thanksgiving. As the world 
builds up monuments to perpetuate the glory 
of her children, likewise does the church, 
to honor those whom she looks upon as the 
most faithful representatives of Christ. 

If we examine, after a critical fashion, the 
several methods of conferring honor, prac- 
ticed, respectively, by the world and the 
church, we will observe that the world prac- 
tices a certain prodigal generosity, but the 
church on the contrary bestows her honors 
with a careful, nay, almost parsimonious 
hand. One brilliant flash, one startling 
achievement and the world is satisfied. The 
individual whom she honors may be below 
mediocrity in a variety of ways; morally, he 
may be sunk in an abyss of filthiness, yet so 
long as he arouses the world's attention and 
admiration by some striking or brilliant per- 
formance, she crowns him with the laurels of 
fame. 



74 Plain Sermons. 

The church has her measure of praise for 
every act of remarkable virtue, but no such 
isolated act constitutes a title to her honors. 
The man whom she places upon her altars 
must be, as I have said, a faithful repre- 
sentative of Christ, of his love, his actions, 
his power even. It must further be clear 
that he is a special instrument in the hands 
of the Almighty, for the redemption of souls. 
The most fundamental element in the title 
to the church's honor is personal sanctity, 
and of this the primary constituent is con- 
quest of self. What an arduous achieve- 
ment conquest of self really is. It is easier 
to overcome armies than to subjugate the 
host of passions that struggle for ascendency 
within us. The names of Gaul, Helvetia, 
the Rubicon and Pharsalia tell the story of 
the mighty dominating soul of Csesar; but 
written side by side with the narrative of his 
glory, is the history of that degrading servi- 
tude in the thraldom of which he was held 
by his ignoble passions. Such was often the 
case among those, the might of whose arms 
conquered nations, yet who, in turn, were 
ruled by the worst passions that agitate the 



The Saints of God. 75 

human heart. Purity, temperance, self- 
denial, the brave endurance of pain, charity, 
humility, fortitude and justice — these are 
the personal characteristics of the saints. 
No single Christian virtue, no matter how 
emphasized in a soul, will make a saint, but 
rather the combination of all those blessed 
virtues, which were so palpable in the life of 
him who said " Learn of Me, (1) I am the 
way." (2) 

Were we to go a step farther in the prose- 
cution of this comparison between the heroes 
of the world and the heroes of the church, we 
would see that in the matter of external 
conquest, the w T ork of the saints is worthy of 
the greater consideration. The nation de- 
prived of its liberty and subjugated by an 
alien conquerer, bides the time when fortune 
will furnish an opportunity of regaining 
what was lost. The dying gladiator pouring 
forth the ruby tide, with which went out 
his life* died with hatred and revenge in 
his heart. Prometheus chained to the rock 
was yet unconquered, and in his fetters 

1 Matt. XI, 29. 

2 Joan XIX, 6. 



76 Plain Sermons. 

cast defiance at his august torturer. The 
conquests of the saints were not of blood, but 
they reached to the very hearts and souls of 
men, whom they led captive in mighty 
throngs to the feet of Christ. They con- 
quered not for self-aggrandizement, but that 
they might liberate their captives from the 
slavery of error and sin, and bestow upon 
them the liberty of the sons of God. 

It is curious, indeed, that for honoring 
these special servants of Christ, the Catholic 
church is so severely arraigned by those 
outside her pale, who call themselves 
Christians. The attitude of the church 
towards the saints is set forth with striking 
exactness in the words of Holy Writ which I 
have used as a text. ( 'Let us praise men of 
renown. * * let the church declare their 
praise." The spouse of Christ obeys this 
injunction of the Holy Ghost with joy and 
alacrity. Well does she know that "good 
things continue with their seed." She 
holds up the example of their beautiful lives 
and encourages us to imitate their virtues. 
She unfolds to the tempted and discouraged, 
the temptations and the victories of those 



The Saints of God, 77 

blessed ones. To the sinner she unfolds the 
sinfulness and mayhap degradation of some 
heart, which by a miracle of God's love was 
changed, like that of Augustine, to a sanc- 
tuary of purity and holiness. The church 
not only holds up the lives of God's blessed 
ones for our admiration and encouragement, 
but realizing their power as they stand be- 
fore the throne of Christ, their great exem- 
plar, when chanting their praises, she begs 
them to pray for us. She does not beg of 
them grace or mercy, knowing full well, 
that these gifts are not at their disposal; but 
she begs them use their power in the exer- 
cise of charity, by offering to Christ in our 
behalf the sweet incense of prayerful suffrage. 
They have run successfully in the course, 
they have " fought the good.fight' ' victorious- 
ly, and while praising their achievements in 
the spiritual order, our Holy Mother bids 
them as it were, remember the days of their 
pilgrimage, with its struggles, its heart- 
burnings and temptations, and to sympa- 
thize with us yet striving with the world, the 
flesh and the devil. 



78 Plain Sermons. 

Another feature of the church's attitude 
toward the saints, is that of placing their 
images and relics in places of respect, and 
demanding for them veneration. Our sep- 
arated brethren have not hesitated to accuse 
us of idolatry on this account. Needless to 
state beloved, the honor or veneration which 
we accord the image of ,a saint or his relic, 
has not its term in the carved image or in 
the fragment of a bone or a garment. The 
honor paid is simply of a relative character, 
such as that which we pay to a mother's por- 
trait, or the statue of the Father of his 
Country, with this distinction; that the ven- 
eration of the image or relic of a saint is 
purely a religious act, whereas the other 
need not possess any religious characteristic 
whatever. We honor the relic of the saint, 
because of the saint, just as in turn we 
honor the saint because of Christ. What- 
ever is of excellence or virtue in the saint, 
is simply a reflection of the goodness, the 
holiness of Jesus Christ. We honor the 
saint because of Jesus Christ, whom he 
faintly reproduces; and it is solely that repro- 
duction which is the cause of our veneration . 



The Saints of God, 79 

The world which reproaches the church for 
her devotion to the saints, and her regard 
for their images and relics, places itself in a 
ludicrously inconsistent position. She 
erects statues of her heroes and hedges them 
about with marks of profound respect. Go 
into her historical museums, and note there 
the accumulation of relics of every descrip- 
tion, including even, old and ragged apparel. 
All these are jealously and sacredly guarded, 
because, forsooth, this sword belonged to the 
hero of such a battle; this cannon ball caused 
the death of such a patriot; and this old 
mantle covered the form of some "rag-clad 
Jove' ' of history. All this is perfectly proper 
and normal; but why then does the world, 
and even the Christian world outside the 
church (if so I may speak), upbraid and 
revile the spouse of Christ, for honoring 
after the same manner, the great servants of 
the Master. 

Abraham fell down in adoration before 
the angels sent to him by God; Josue 
when confronted by the angel who called 
himself the prince of the army of the Lord, 
prostrated himself before the angelic spirit. 



80 Plain Sermo?is. 



{ i 



Go to my servant Job * * * lie will pray 
for you," (1) says the most High. It is not 
marvelous then, that at the very dawn of 
Christianity, we find prayerful honor offered 
by the disciples of Christ to their brethren 
who had gone before, by the royal road of 
the Cross, to the enjoyment of God's blessed 
vision. The most ancient liturgies, the 
earliest monuments, especially in the cata- 
combs, testify unmistakably to the practice 
of honoring and invoking the saints. How 
thoroughly reasonable, inspiring and stimu- 
lating, are both the practice and the doctrine 
which underlies it. If the angels hear our 
prayers and offer them to God, as the 
Inspired Word tells us in the book of Tobias, 
and if there is joy among those blessed 
spirits upon the repentance of a sinner, what 
argument can be adduced to prove that the 
brethren triumphant in heaven, can neither 
hear or attend my supplication. The inspi- 
ration and incentive furnished by the 
Catholic doctrine upon this point are quite 
beyond the realm of dispute. When I am 
confronted by the wonderful effect of cor- 
1 Job xlii, 8. 



The Sai?its of God. 81 

respondence to the grace of Jesus Christ, as 
it is seen in the lives of the saints, am I not 
filled with the idea of what is possible in my 
own case — for surely that grace has . not 
ceased to abound. And though I may not 
be called to the heights of perfection, as 
were these altogether chosen souls, yet I am 
impelled to do my little best, stimulated by 
their illustrious example. I am encouraged 
and uplifted by their help. Ignatius of 
Loyola was a worldling of a pronounced 
type, and we have no special reason to 
believe that he was free from the vices of 
the society in which he lived; yet such was 
the powerful influence brought to bear upon 
his soul by the perusal of the lives of the 
saints, that his own sanctity, and the ex- 
istence of the Society of Jesus are directly 
traceable to it. Saints beget saints in God. 
The heroic practice of virtue in one age of 
the church is the inspiration to those of fol- 
lowing generations, and the fruit of that in- 
spiration is'more sanctity, more heroism for 
God's blessed sake. Who can ever recount 
the marvels which have resulted from the 
church's action in holding up the virtues of 



82 Plain Sermons, 

the saints before the eyes of the faithful? 
How the stories of the martyrs thrill the 
soul (even of a child) and create the desire 
of suffering something for Christ's sake. 
The touching picture of the tender little 
Agnes, withstanding the might of an em- 
peror, in her determination to keep unsul- 
lied her purity and to die rather than be 
faithless to her crucified spouse; the brave 
Cecilia valiantly offering her neck to the 
executioner; the dauntless Sebastian hero- 
ically baring his breast to arrows; the in- 
trepid boy Pancratius standing in the arena 
with the strength of the Lion of Judah in 
his soul, these and a thousand others teach 
us lessons in the value of faith, fortitude 
and perseverance in the service of God, even 
under the greatest difficulties. When the 
church emerged from the catacombs and 
caves of the earth, and began to breathe the 
air of freedom, she ceased not to furnish 
abundant examples of marvelous sanctity, 
and such has been her history in every age; 
men and women in every clime devoting all 
the energy of their beings to the extension 
of Christ's kingdom, by personal sanctifi- 



The Saints of God, 83 

cation, and by ministering to the every need 
of their brethren. What an uplifting of his 
age, was caused by the gentle Francis of 
Assisi, with his burning, nay, consuming 
love of God, and love of all creatures in God. 
How many were led to forsake the world 
and its dangers, led captive by his words of 
humility and detachment from earthly 
things — words reinforced by the shining 
light of his example. Did these wonderful 
effects cease at his death? No, for the doc- 
trines of the church concerning the venera- 
tion and honor of the saints, have given St. 
Francis a continued vitality, and today, 
thousands of his children are practicing his 
virtues and continuing his work. How 
many a young Levite's heart has been fired 
with the desire to save souls to Christ, by 
the all devouring love of St. Francis Xavier. 
How many a woman of the world has been 
encouraged to forsake vanity and luxury, 
and live apart from the world in penitential 
contemplation; or, if in the world, to live 
solely for the exercise of Christian charity, 
by the examples of St. Theresa, or of St. 
Elizabeth, of Hungary. Every saint is a 



84 Plain Sermons. 

light to the world, and each one that has 
been placed upon onr altars, helps ns to 
understand one phase or another of that one 
great mystery, namely, the mystery of our 
redemption through the Cross. 

Let us then rejoice that God is so wonder- 
ful in his saints, that He has condescended 
to raise poor fallen human nature to such 
heights of perfection, and that He has 
willed to show us through the church, so 
many masterpieces of his grace. We have 
no fear that the honor and praise which we 
pay to them, derogates in any manner from 
that adoration and service which we owe 
Him. We but faintly imitate the action of 
God when we sing the praises of his saints, 
for Divine Truth has said: "If any man 
minister to me, him will my Father hon- 
or." (1) In the saints we honor his most 
perfect handiwork among men, and all their 
glory is for his sake. " Praise men of re- 
nown * * whose godly deeds have not 
failed." Invoke the saints continually. 
Recommend to their holy sympathies your 
trials and sorrows. Cry out to them in 

1 Joan XII, 26. 



The Saints of God. 85 

temptation, make of them your daily com- 
panions. Study their lives and ponder their 
victories over the world and self. There is 
no real complete Catholic devotion, in a soul 
that is a stranger to the saints. Such a 
soul has at least one Protestant character- 
istic. The saints can never be outdone in 
generosity, nor have they lost interest in 
souls by being eternally united with Jesus 
Christ in glory. Hence every prayer and 
invocation will bear fruit a hundred fold, 
for they who are the nearest and dearest 
servants of the Lord, will pray for us that 
we may ultimately be associated with them 
and join in their song of eternal praise. 



PURGATORY. 

"Have pity on me, have pity on me, at least 
yon my friends, because the hand of the Lord 
hath touched me. "—Job XIX, 21. 

Beloved! have you sometimes wandered 
through the silent cities of the dead, listen- 
ing to the requiem that the wind mourn- 
fully chants among the trees and grave- 
stones, giving yourselves up to the solemn 
thoughts that those places suggest? Yes, 
we have all made little pilgrimages now and 
again to those sombre reservations — sombre 
because no sun with its light and warmth 
can ever dispel from there the presence of 
the great leveler — death; that paralyzes the 
tongue of the orator, that shrivels up the 
hand of the sculptor, that silences the voice 
of music and turns all beauty to ghastliness. 
None but the fool or the most callously in- 
different man can contemplate death with- 
out being seriously impressed. And were 
we to look upon it only from the view-point 
of nature, our souls would be filled with 
bitterness, but the voice of religion sweetens 

(86) 



Purgatory. 87 

the sadness of our meditations. Upon the 
tombstones in God's acre we see not only 
the record of death, but with that the prayer 
which religion's voice teaches, 'may he rest 
in peace' — Requiescat in Pace.* 1 

There is no doctrine of the Catholic 
church that so sweetly attunes itself to the 
sentiments of the human heart as that of 
Purgatory. It answers a yearning cry of 
the human soul. We find the doctrine set 
forth by some of the ancients, independent- 
ly of revelation, which is a strong plea for its 
reasonableness. Plato (1) speaks of a future 
existence, whereby suffering man may ex- 
piate a guilty life and the Poet Virgil (2) 
sings of a purification, which must be 
undergone after death in order that the soul 
may be fitted to enter the Elysian Fields. 

There are two things that are of faith 
concerning Purgatory, first that it exists, 
and second, that the souls detained there on 
account of the guilt of venial sin, or the 
temporal punishment yet due for mortal sin 
already forgiven, may be assisted by our 

(1) The idea is found in the Gorgias. 

(2) Aeneid lib. VI. 



88 Plain Sermons. 

pious suffrages. We read in the second 
book of the Machabees, that Judas sent 
offerings of silver to Jerusalem, that sacrifices 
might be offered by the priests, for the souls 
of those who had fallen in battle, and the 
inspired word adds that "It is therefore a 
holy and wholesome thought to pray for the 
dead, that they may be loosed from their 
sins." (1) It is true that the portion of 
Holy Writ from which the text is drawn is 
not received by our separated brethren as a 
part of the inspired Scriptures, yet the most 
learned among them acknowledge the histor- 
ical genuineness of the books of the Macha- 
bees, and from this is sufficiently proven, 
that the custom of praying for the dead ex- 
isted in the Jewish church and furthermore, 
that the custom can only be explained by 
admitting that under the Old Law the belief 
in Purgatory existed. For us who belong 
to the household of the faith, no difficulty 
touching this matter exists. It was not 
until the rebellion of Luther, that the above 
named sacred books were called into question, 
regarding their inspired character. "And 

(1) II Mach. XII, 46. 



Purgatory. 89 

who was Luther? ' ' says a great preacher of 
the last century, u a libertine and an apos- 
tate monk. Whence did he come? From a 
monastery where for twenty years he lived 
on the alms offered for the dead. What had he 
discovered against the doctrine of Purgatory? 
Absolutely nothing — he merely denied it. " 
(1) Our Blessed Lord declares that a sin 
against the Holy Ghost shall be remitted 
neither in this world or in the next, 
and these words clearly allow the supposi- 
tion that some sins may be forgiven in the 
next world. We know by faith that these 
cannot be mortal sins which are not par- 
doned after death, hence the words of the 
Master refer either to venial sin or to the 
temporal punishment due to mortal sin 
already remitted. The great St. Ambrose, 
Bishop of Milan, preaching on St. Paul's ex- 
pression: "Some souls are saved, yet so as 
by fire, M (2) says: " The apostle shows that 
certain souls will indeed be saved but only 
after the endurance of the pain of fire, in 
order that by such punishment they may 

1 Agostino da Montefeltro (Purgatory.) 

2 Cor. Ill, 19. 



90 Plain Sermons. 

be purged of guilt, and not be tortured 
by an eternal fire like those who are 
lost." (1) There can be no reference to 
the fire of hell, from which we know that 
no soul is ever snatched. This illustrious 
Father of the church then preached 
Purgatory in the fourth century of the 
Christian era, as clearly as any expounder 
of God's word could do it today. If we turn 
to the annals of Christian history, in order 
to find the practice of praying for the dead, 
we are abundantly rewarded. From the 
second cent my, the early morn of Chris- 
tianity, we have the beautiful testimony of 
Turtullian. "On an appointed day every 
year," says he, "we make our oblations for 
the departed, and if you enquire for the 
sanction of this and other religious practices 
for which mayhap you find no warrant in 
Scripture, I will tell you that tradition is 
their source, custom confirms them and faith 
preserves them." (2) This surely has the 
ring of true Catholic teaching. What a con- 
solation and a joy to know that our brethren 

1 Sermo XX in Ps. CXVIII 

2 Turtullian De Corona c 4. 



Purgatory. 91 

at the very dawn of Christianity were in no 
wise distinguished from ourselves in this 
beautiful doctrine and practice. The great 
St. Augustine, of Hippo, the most illustri- 
ous of all the Latin Fathers, declares the 
custom of praying for the dead, to be uni- 
versal in the church, as a matter of sacred 
observance. (1) Some of the most touching 
evidences of the antiquity of this practice, 
are found in the inscriptions upon the walls of 
the catacombs in which such large numbers 
of the martyrs were buried; "May God re- 
fresh thy soul' ' , t 'Mayest thou, O Ursula, be 
rendered acceptable to Christ", "May eter- 
nal light shine upon thee, O Limothea, in 
Christ." (2) 

The reasonableness of the doctrine of 
Purgatory, Beloved, is perhaps its most 
striking characteristic. It is difficult for 
the mind to understand how the Almighty 
will treat in precisely the same manner, 
the individual whose life has been character- 
ized by constant righteousness, and the sin- 
ner who has lived but to trample upon divine 

1 Serm. 172, N 2. 

2 Northcote "The Roman Catacombs, Cap. VIII. 



92 Plain Sermons. 

law, but who, by an altogether signal grace, 
repents efficaciously before death, and there- 
by earns a title to eternal glory. This 
offends our natural sense of justice, our idea 
of proportion and fitness. It is perfectly 
true that it is not for us to measure the 
Lord's action by our standards, and He 
Himself warns us against attempting the 
analysis of His ways, which are declared in- 
scrutable. However the reason which he 
has given us, is a reflection of his own, and 
the normal judgments which flow from our 
reason, are probably in line with divine 
truth. The doctrine of Purgatory solves 
the difficulty. Besides the natural sense of 
justice, which (if I may dare so speak) de- 
mands that there should be some expiation 
on the part of the forgiven sinner, we have 
Scriptural warrant for the belief, that such 
expiation God actually requires. When 
David sent up his heart-broken "miserere" 
the Lord was touched, and poured down 
upon the soul of the guilty king the waters 
of forgiveness; yet he sent his prophet 
Nathan to tell the royal sinner, that al- 
though his sin had been taken away, yet 



Purgatory, 93 

the Lord would severely afflict him. A fa- 
mous Protestant author ( 1 ) says : ( ' Many who 
die are surely too good to go to hell, and 
assuredly too bad to be admitted at once to 
paradise." And hence we say that our 
instincts tell us of the necessity of that 
middle state of purging and purification. 

Purgatory is as we have said a sweetness 
and a consolation. Its doctrine tells me 
that the grave is not in any absolute sense 
capable of separating me from my loved 
ones. It tells me that I can still show them 
my love and devotion, and they in turn can 
help and support me. Though death can 
never be stripped of all its horrors — for the di- 
vine decree stands, that death should always 
be a punishment — yet to the believer in 
Purgatory it can never leave that horrible 
chaotic void that it creates in the soul that 
has no faith, for this doctrine assures the 
soul that it can help the beloved departed 
on toward God, and the consciousness of 
being able to render such assistance greatly 
compensates for the pain of separation. 
Again this belief offers the Christian soul 

1 Haase. 



94 Plain Sermons, 

opportunity to practice a larger charity than 
that which is limited by the suffering and 
the needy here upon earth, a charity which 
the grave can neither chill nor render 
inefficacious. 

Though very many pious persons are 
ever mindful of the souls in Purgatory, not 
only those souls to whom they have been 
bound by the cords of Adam or the bonds of 
friendship, but for all who languish there in 
pain, yet it must be confessed sadly, that 
numbers of us are deaf to their appeals for 
help. According to the doctrine of the 
church, they cannot help themselves, and so 
depend upon the souls triumphant and the 
souls militant for assistance. If the appeal 
of Job which I have used as a text impresses 
us with the misery of that great servant of 
God, surely those words carry a message of 
heartrending pathos to us, when they issue 
from the prison-house of just souls. "Have 
pity on me, have pity on me, at least you 
my friends, because the hand of the Lord 
hath touched me. ' ' Their sufferings we are 
taught are intense, differing from those of 
the damned only in duration. "Have pity 



Purgatory. 95 

on me." Mayhap we have been deaf this 
many a day to the cry of a dead mother, 
who bore us, nurtured us and loved us with 
that marvelous tenderness, that is found 
nowhere but in a mother's heart. She suffers 
in those cleansing flames, perhaps for sins 
that we occasioned. "Have pity on me;" 
it may be the cry of a father, a husband, a 
wife, a son, or daughter. Marvelous indeed 
that our hearts have been cold and indiffer- 
ent to those piercing appeals. "Have pity 
on me," it may be the cry of a friend or 
companion, whom we led into the path of 
sin by our evil example, nay more, we 
may have been the companion of that 
guilt which now he expiates." "Have pity 
on me;" it may be the appeal of some 
poor forgotten soul, known to but few 
and regretted by none. "Have pity on 
me, have pity on me at least you my friends, 
because the hand of the Lord hath touched 
me." 

Catholics very often are willing to practice 
extravagance, in efforts to bury their dead 
with pomp. John Ruskin says: "Many a 
poor family will nearly ruin themselves, to 



96 Plain Sermoyis. 

testify their respect for some member of it in 
his coffin, whom they never much cared for 
when he was out of it." We all know how 
true this is. But the question suggests it- 
self: Is this display a token of regard for 
the departed, so much as an exhibition of 
personal pride and vanity? I think beloved 
that it is rather the latter, for with a start- 
ling frequency it happens, that the sod which 
shuts in the dead one from earthly view, 
shuts him out from the memories of those 
whom he has left behind. The funeral 
knell not only proclaims that a man is dead 
but that he is also forgotten. St. Francis 
de Sales calls praying for the dead the 
noblest form of almsgiving, for by this act 
we truly clothe the naked, feed the hungry 
and dry up the tears of the desolate. If we 
look at this work of mercy in the light of 
its effect we are forced to see its spiritual 
excellence. It is giving souls to God, forcing 
them (if so I may speak) into heaven, add- 
ing citizens to the heavenly kingdom; and 
for these reasons it becomes obvious, that 
it is not simply an act of charity towards 
our neighbor, but an act of charity towards 



Purgatory. 97 

ourselves. Can you believe that the soul 
whose liberation you have obtained by 
prayer, will be oblivious of your kindly 
offices, now that he shares the joys of 
Christ? Assuredly not, for the saints in 
heaven are perfected in charity. And if 
the prayer of the just man here on earth 
''availeth much," as the word of God teach- 
es us, how much more the prayer of the 
soul purified of all earthly dross, basking 
in the sunshine of God's blessed presence in 
heaven. Not only when they arrive at the 
beatific vision, but while in bonds, do they 
remember their benefactors, and pray for 
them, for though powerless (as we have 
seen) to aid themselves they are able to in- 
tercede with God for us. 

The Church supplies every sort of in- 
centive to the practice of this devotion, and 
she herself is ever mindful of that portion of 
her communion, which she calls ^ecclesia 
patiens* , 'the Church suffering. ' She allows 
us to apply, a very large number of in- 
dulgences to the souls in Purgatory, and 
exhorts us continually to remember those 
that are in bonds. She sets aside one 



98 Plain Sermons. 

special day in the year on which she makes 
most solemn commemoration of them, and in 
every mass celebrated npon her altars, she 
commands the priest to make a special 
memento for the dead. Though he is allowed 
to offer a special fruit of the sacrifice, for 
this or that individual soul, or for some 
particular intention, he is never allowed to 
omit the mention of all the suffering souls, 
that they may receive some benefit from 
that august sacrifice. 

Let us be generous then Beloved, to the 
suffering souls, never allowing a day to pass 
without furthering the cause of some one 
of them by a fervent prayer. We need 
their help more than they need ours, for 
although they languish in pain, yet the ques- 
tion of their eternal companionship with 
God is settled, whereas we are surrounded 
by a dreadful uncertainty. Let us then by 
the exercise of charity, prepare for ourselves 
advocates against the awful hour of death 
and judgment. And if by God's grace we 
die Christian deaths, how keenly shall we 
appreciate the fruit of our former charity, 
when we shall be tortured by those same 



Purgatory . 99 

flames in the day of our purification. That 
fruit will be the assistance , which those blessed 
ones for whom we prayed, shall extend to 
us. 'By what measure ye mete, it shall be 
measured to you again . ' ( 1 ) Let these words 
of Christ keep ringing in our ears, and let 
them spur us on to the practice of a pious 
selfishness. Finally let us remember not 
only our own beloved dead, though these 
indeed have the prior claim upon our help, 
but let us also be mindful of those poor, 
forgotten or abandoned souls, who have no 
one to offer special supplication for them. 
11 Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and 
let perpetual light shine upon them." 
"May they rest in peace. Amen. n 

1 Matt. VII, 2. 

UOFCc 



THE INCARNATION. 

1 ' The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us . ' ' (1) 

The enemies of Christianity have advanced 
a great variety of arguments to demonstrate, 
that belief in our Holy Religion is extreme 
folly. They have attacked us at many 
points, but their proudest efforts have been 
directed against the mysteries of our faith. 
They have maintained that to give an un- 
questioning assent to a proposition, which is 
not amenable to analysis and comprehen- 
sion on the part of the human intellect, is 
to surrender our intelligence to unreasona- 
ble bondage. They have told us that fidel- 
ity to reason demands, that man should de- 
cline to accept what is beyond his ken. A 
religious system, therefore, which proposes 
mysteries for man's belief should be rejected. 

These statements are invested with a cer- 
tain plausibility, which has shipwrecked 
many weak souls, who have not perceived 
their thinly veiled sophistry; and it may be 

1 Joan I, 14. 

(100) 



The Incarnation. 101 

said without hesitation, that the contentions 
3f our adversaries concerning mystery in 
religion are the veriest sophistry that can 
well be imagined. We live in the very 
midst of mystery. The man who says that 
his belief is limited by his powers of com- 
prehension, occupies an utterly untenable 
position. The distinction between what is 
above reason and what is against reason, is 
one which our enemies continually lose 
sight of. Were an absolutely certain dem- 
onstration to be given, which would prove 
beyond doubt that a mystery of religion was 
against reason, then indeed would a hard 
blow be dealt our faith. But the contention 
that every article of belief which our poor 
little minds cannot comprehend should be 
repudiated, is highly absurd. The law 
of gravitation is mysterious beyond words. 
Yet who would dare to deny it? I behold 
phenomena, it is true, which clearly tell me 
of such a law, but as to the last analysis of 
the law itself, I know simply nothing. I 
cannot fathom it, for it is a mystery. As 1 
gaze upwards into the starry vaults of 
heaven, though I am confronted with phe- 



102 Plain Sermons. 

nomena, yet I am face to face with mystery. 
The process whereby the little acorn becomes 
the forest giant, holds mysterious secrets 
from the keenest scientist. Since then we 
are surrounded by mysteries in this visible, 
tangible world, what wonder that there 
should be mysteries in that unseen world, 
which has filled the earth with its phenom- 
ena from the dawn of the world's history 
until our own days. 

The mystery of the Incarnation of the Son 
of God, is the foundation of Christianity, 
and one of the profoundest of mysteries, 
"unto the Jews a stumbling block," as 
blessed Paul says "and unto the Gejitiles 
foolishness. ' ' (1) So indeed has it proven, but 
not, as the apostle continues, to those both 
Jews and Greeks, who are called by "the 
power of Christ and the wisdom of God. n 
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than 
men; and the weakness of God is stronger 
than men . " ( 2 ) It is indeed a truth that ad- 
mits of no philosophical demonstration, and 
by the world it has been grossly miscon- 

1 Cor. I, 23. 

2 Ibid. 



The Incarnation. 103 

ceived: "The light shineth into darkness 
and the darkness comprehendeth it not." (1) 
It has not ceased to be 'the light,' however, 
and it has penetrated the darkest spots of a 
darksome world, and has become the light 
of life to countless millions. The Christian 
soul believes without question or hesitation, 
that the Son of God — the second person of 
the Blessed Trinity, came down upon earth, 
and assuming the rags of human nature, 
became man — Jesus Christ — one person; 
God and man at the same time, because in 
possession of both the divine and human na- 
tures. Our Blessed Lord then is he in whom 
4 ' the fullness of the Godhead dwelleth cor- 
porally." (2) "He is God— God in the flesh, 
God possessing a human dwelling, God not 
restricted or localized, yet capable of being 
seen by the eye, and pointed to with the 
finger." Hence He is what the Holy 
Scriptures prophesied that He would be, 
4 Emmanuel' , that is , l God with us . ' The In- 
carnation is the highest development and 
perfection of God's relations with man, 

1 Joan I, 5. 

2 Col. II, 9. 



104 Plain Sermons. 

Every other manifestation of Himself was a 
step in the direction of the realization of this 
mystery. St. Paul, in writing to the 
Hebrews, says: "God, who at sundry times 
and in divers manners, spoke in times past to 
the fathers by the prophets , last of all , in these 
days hath spoken to us by His Son." (1) 
The Incarnation, therefore, is the last, the 
greatest and the perfect completion of God's 
revelations to the world. The cause of this 
event is set forth succinctly in St. Paul's 
letters to the Galatians. " When the full- 
ness of time was come, God sent his Son, 
made of a woman, made under the law, 
that He might redeem those who were 
under the law, that we might receive the 
adoption of sons." (2) The reparation, 
then, of the shattered spiritual fortunes of 
the race, was the prompting motive which 
determined this mystery of divine conde- 
scension. And it is the knowledge of this 
fact that makes the mystery luminous to 
souls of the faithful, whether learned or 

1. Heb. I, 1,2. 

2. Gal. IV, 4, 5. 



The Incarnation. 105 

ignorant. The obscurity which surrounds 
the hypostatic union of two natures in one 
person c is lost sight of in the light and 
splendor of God's wondrous love and gener- 
osity. The faithful soul inquires not, as to 
how God wrought this wonderful thing; she 
simply rests in the knowledge that He did 
it for love of us, to redeem us from the cap- 
tivity of sin, and to restore us to liberty, to 
bestow on us the adoption of sons. After 
all it is not too much to say that God speaks 
to us in our best moments upon the deepest 
mysteries, in such wise that we can tell no 
man the nature of the message, nor can we 
really tell ourselves; but we are conscious of 
a spiritual refreshment, an exaltation of 
soul, a profounder adoration than before 
these divine visitations. Mayhap these 
precious moments of contemplation upon 
such marvels as the Incarnation, are times 
when God allows us to experience some jot 
or tittle of the reward of an unquestioning 
faith. And this is true of the lowly and 
ignorant, as of the wise and learned, for the 
tidings of this mystery are addressed to all. 
Have you ever noticed, that when children 



106 Plain Sermons. 

are at play, sometimes their little faces look 
grave and solemn, when they pause awhile 
from romping, and stand deep wrapt with 
straining eyes? Some one has spoken of 
the fathomless depths of a child's eyes 
under like circumstances. Are we com- 
pelled to describe the situation as a moment 
of complete blank? Would it be amiss to 
believe that He who loved the little ones 
with such tenderness, is then speaking to 
their hearts? And so when we behold some 
individual of poor gifts and no education 
buried in the thought of God's goodness as 
expressed in the Incarnation, are we sure 
that He is not communicating illumination 
as well as warmth? 

The most dreadful feature of man's con- 
dition after the fall of our first parents, was 
not that he was condemned to death, or that 
I he was rendered amenable to sorrow, pain 
and misery. Nor was it that he was 
driven from Eden to struggle amid the 
thorns and brambles. No, beloved, the 
most unfortunate feature of it all, was that 
God withdrew Himself from man. He had 
walked familiarly with Adam, and had con- 



The Incarnation, 107 

versed with him as a father with his child, 
but when sin had stolen the hearts of His 
creatures, He hastily withdrew, and shut 
Himself in His heavenly home; and a hor- 
rible void filled the earth, and cold and dark- 
ness o'erspread its face, for its light and 
warmth had fled. His mercy battled with 
His justice, before the sentence of His male- 
diction was thundered forth upon man's 
rebellion, and simultaneously with enumer- 
ating the curses which would afflict the race c 
He promised that He would come again to 
gather us to Himself. For ages He came, 
but only now and then to remind us of His 
promise. To Abraham, to Isaac and to 
Jacob, to Moses and to Josue did He speak, 
and then He sent His prophets and teachers, 
all. the while insisting that in the fullness of 
time He would be true to His promise. 
Upon this word the Patriarchs leaned; 
around it centered all the religious hopes 
and aspirations of the chosen race through 
their long and troublous history. Though 
the various nations without the sacred pale 
lost the knowledge of this promise of God's 
return, as far as it's definite idea was con- 



108 Plain Sermons, 

cerned, yet there was a universal hope of a 
great emancipation from the woes that 
afflicted humanity, and of a great uplifting 
of the race through the kindly ministra- 
tions of a God. 

What was this save the Messianic idea cor- 
roded by error and corruption? The sacred 
books of the East, the Attic philosophers, 
and the noblest of Rome's poets, all furnish 
evidences of the fact that the extravagant 
expressions of religion, shorn of its pristine 
purity, were insufficient to obliterate com- 
pletely the idea of the Incarnation. 

And so "in the fullness of time" what 
man lost in Eden he regained in Beth- 
lehem, for God "sent His Son," His 
equal in might and majesty * * * "that we 
might receive the adoption of sons." Did 
that Son come as we would expect a God to 
come, beloved? Did He arrive surrounded 
with every circumstance of pomp; clad 
in the panoply of His strength? No, 
beloved. He came to offer sacrifice and He 
began that sacred oblation at His entrance 
into this world. He came to teach a gospel 



The Incarnation. 109 

of pain, and His birth was the first object 
lesson. His coming did not lack glory it is 
true, for He was born of a virgin, and the 
darkness of the night was dispelled by a 
light celestial, and in its midst appeared an 
angelic host singing with wondrous har- 
mony, a song of peace, the melody of which 
resounded through heaven's etherial vaults. 
This heavenly anthem, however, fell only 
upon the ears of a few shepherds who 
watched their flocks by night upon a slope 
of Judaea's hills. The remaining feature 
which contributed glory to His coming was 
a marvelous peace, a universal quiet. 

"But peaceful was the night 

Wherein the Prince of Light 
His reign of peace upon the earth began; 

The winds with wonder whist, 
Smoothly the waters kist, 

Whispering new joys to the mild ocean, 
Who now hath quite forgot to rave, 

While birds of calm sit brooding on 
The charmed wave." (1) 

" While all things were in quiet silence, 
and the night was in the midst of her 
course," says Wisdom, "Thy almighty word 
leapt down from heaven from Thy royal 

1 Milton's Hymn on the Nativity. 



110 Plain Sermons. 

throne." (1) That universal peace was 
not, however, a peace that came from the 
prevalence of concord, charity or godliness; 
it was the peace of exhaustion. The tide 
of iniquity was at its fullest; it was in very 
truth l 'the fullness of time." The 'taedium 
vitae' had seized upon a large portion of 
society, for every avenue to sinful .gratifica- 
tion had been thoroughly explored. Man's 
heart was sick with satiety and his lips were 
dumb with disgust. The moral fragment 
of society sat silently waiting. " Nudes 
pluant Justum" Ah! what a moment for 
that prayer. The mighty waters of iniquity 
were heaped up; what a moment for that 
prayer's answer! 

This little shivering Babe came to do 
battle with hell, for the possession of men's 
souls — He came to grapple with every phase 
i of sinfulness that had crept into the hearts 
of men. Let us look for a brief moment at 
the picture that greeted him. "If we ex- 
cept the Jews, all other nations were alike 
ignorant of the true God and their origin 
from Him. Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Greece 

1 Wisdom XVIII, 14, 15. 



The Incarnation. Ill 

f 

and Rome, were all alike plunged in idolatry 
and degrading vices; while the Eastern 
peoples, less skilled in art and letters, had 
also lost the primary traditions on the 
works of God and his worship. All these 
nations were divided by mutual hatred and 
suspicion, * * * were striving against each 
other in fierce battle or private deeds of 
violence, whilst multitudes groaned and 
dragged on their lives in slavery. Those in 
power were carnal and selfish, the wise 
steeped in pride, and split up into sects. 
* * * Priests were a class of idolators and 
monstrous imposters. * * * All were born, 
lived and died with God's anger on their 
heads — all alike slaves of iniquity." (1) 
How utterly hopeless seemed the task! The 
big wicked world on one side and that poor 
little Babe nestling helplessly in His 
Mother's arms on the other. But in that 
little form slumbered the strength of Judah's 
Lion, and the power of Sion's King. This 
Babe given to us in the little city of 
David; this child, whom we knew as a work- 
ing boy in Nazareth, was the Preacher who 

1 Fr. Clark, S.J. , Spiritual Iyife (Incarnation). 



112 Plain Sermons. 

aroused Judaea and Galilee; the Master that 
summoned the world to come after Him, and 
has made so many faithful to Him unto 
death. He was the wonder worker who 
made the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the 
lame to walk and who called the dead from 
the tomb. He was the Martyr, who laid 
down His life that God's justice might be 
satisfied, and His anger against men ap- 
peased. Has He succeeded in that arduous 
struggle? Has He established a kingdom 
or an empire of souls, wherein He is truly 
sovereign? Does He number His subjects 
in mighty throngs? Yes, beloved, yes, 
a thousand times to all these questions. 
The Babe of Bethlehem lives in the minds 
of an innumerable multitude of men. 
A large portion of mankind walk in 
His footsteps, and endeavor with vary- 
ing success to reproduce His virtues. 
Though lifted up as a criminal, and de- 
graded before the world upon a throne of 
ignominy, millions of adorers gather about 
Him daily, prostrate themselves, and will- 
ingly kiss those wounds, " which ope their 
ruby lips" and send forth regenerating 



The l7icar?iatio?i. 113 

streams of precious blood. An army of 
martyrs have sacrificed their lives upon 
the altar of fidelity to Him. A countless 
throng of confessors have excluded every 
thing from their lives, save Him and His 
kingdom. In very truth He has conquered; 
He is " every inch a King." 

"Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us 
see this word that is come to pass. " (1) Be- 
loved, at this blessed season, it behooves us 
not only to meditate upon the great mystery 
of the Incarnation, but to go over to Bethle- 
hem with the shepherds from the hill-side, 
to see and to adore. Among all the lessons 
which may be learned while kneeling in 
silent adoration, in that old shed in Bethle- 
hem, the two most strikingly suggested 
are one of humility, the other of love. As 
pride is the greatest of sins, and has caused 
more misfortune to man than any other 
vice, the Incarnate God, upon His very 
entry into the world teaches a striking 
lesson in humility. Adam desired to be as 
God, and by that evil yearning, inaugurated 
the woful history of man's unhappiness. 

1 Luke II, 15. 



114 Plain Sermons. 

The pride of Cain shed the blood of an in- 
nocent brother. The pride of Noe's child- 
ren drove them to the mad scheme of pierc- 
ing the heavens with their tower of foolish- 
ness; and so it is down through the history 
of man's perfidy and depravity, his pride has 
led him to every evil extreme. Jesns Christ 
conld have been born amid riches and 
splendor; He conld have chosen for His 
mother some personage who inherited em- 
pires; but in His birth we find, what would 
appear a studious avoidance, not only of 
anything that savors of luxury, but even 
of what is required for ordinary comfort. 
We are so used to the picture of Jesus born 
in the stable, that upon a great many of us 
it has ceased to make a deep impression. 
The Latins had a proverb, which might be 
rendered thus: " Those things to which we 
are habituated, never strike us as being re- 
markable. n (1) This is true, even though 
we are accustomed to things, which by their 
nature, are extraordinary. This is why so 
few of us learn to any appreciable degree the 
great lesson of humility, which should bean 

1 Assueta vilescunt." 



The Incarnation. 115 

immediate and direct result of c l going over to 
Bethlehem, to see this word which is come 
to pass." Beloved, how urgently we need 
that lesson you and I, all of us without ex- 
ception. Not only are we proud by an un- 
mistakable sin of pride here and there in 
our lives, but we are' so inoculated with the 
vice, that for the vast majority, it is a per- 
sonal characteristic. 

As to the lesson of love, we have suffi- 
ciently rehearsed the fact that love was the 
motive of the great mystery we are now 
celebrating. Infinite generosity that we 
u might receive the adoption of sons." God 
did not need us , beloved. We might have 
been left to our own helplessness, after we 
had become children of wrath through 
"man's first disobedience and the fall"! 
Were we all buried in the depths of eternal 
perdition, the glory and the happiness of 
God would be absoutely intact. Love then, 
divine beneficence explain the marvelous 
condescension of the Son of God. 

'Let us go over to Bethlehem' then, and 
let us beg the divine Babe to make us meek 
and humble of heart, to inflame our poor 



116 Plain Sermons. 

cold hearts with the ardor of His love; 
that we may love Him above and before all 
else; that we may manifest our love by the 
virture of our lives. Let us beg Him too 
for that love for those about us which He 
declares is essential for discipleship, that we 
may be at peace with Him and at peace 
with all men. 






THE VIRGIN MOTHER. 

"Ecce Mater Tua."— Joan XIX, 27, 
"Behold Thy Mother." 

Ever and anon, my brethren, the omnipo- 
tent arm of God is raised to smite the heads 
of persistent sinners with a visitation of 
Divine wrath, and as the dread thnnderbolt 
is on the point of descending npon its pro- 
posed victims, that arm is drawn down 
powerless to the side of the Almighty by a 
creature. A creature! Who is this that 
stands between a wrathful God and the exer- 
cise of His justice, that braves the anger of 
the Omnipotent? Dearly beloved, it is 
Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The place of 
Mary in the Incarnation is one that is 
unique. Says the learned and holy Bishop 
Hedley, " Christianity would not be Chris- 
tianity as we know it, and as our Lord 
wished it to be, without the presence and 
the office of His Blessed Mother." There 
is no portion of Christian teaching that 

(117) 



118 Plain Sermons. 

touches more sympathetically the tenderest 
chords of the human heart than the doc- 
trine which reveals to us Mary's place in the 
Church, and there is no teaching which 
appears more logical to any one having an 
intelligent grasp of the Incarnation, than 
the Catholic position relative to the Mother 
of God. 

When the Wise Men of the East, who 
represented the Gentiles in the stable of 
Bethlehem, came to adore the Infant Jesus, 
and offer fitting tribute to the new-born 
King, "They found the Child with Mary, 
His Mother." These words of St. Matthew 
reveal to us succinctly the attitude of the 
Catholic Church towards the Virgin Mother. 
Jesus and Mary are inseparable; no disasso- 
ciation is possible. The great religious 
revolution of the Sixteenth Century was 
marked by an effort on the part of frenzied 
rebels against the Church to break up this 
companionship, this union between the Re- 
deemer and His Mother. They would, for- 
sooth, love Christ and repudiate Mary. 
To-day their worthy descendants are reach- 
ing the logical conclusion of that ignoble 



The Virgin Mother. 119 

effort, in the repudiation of Christ Himself 
as a Divine character. 

It has been God's ordinary rule that per- 
sonal sanctity should be attendant upon 
high spiritual dignity in place or work. It 
can not be maintained that this rule has not 
suffered many exceptions. Even the wicked 
have been made the instruments of God's 
glory with a certain frequency. "The 
angels, however, who as the word imports 
are God's messengers, are also perfect in 
holiness." " Without sanctity no one shall 
see God;" u no defiled thing can enter the 
courts of heaven; and the higher its inhabi- 
tants are advanced in this ministry about 
the throne, the holier are they. * * * So it 
is also upon earth; the prophets have ordi- 
narily not only gifts but graces; they are 
not only inspired to know and teach God's 
will, but inwardly converted to obey it." 
(1) Now when we consider the place and 
the work of Mary, we are struck at the 
thought of the personal sanctity that must 
attach to her. The holiest spirit that stands 
in attendance at the Almighty's dread 

1 Newman's Sermons to Mixed Cong. (Glories of Mary.) 
The title of the work mentioned in footnote is Newman's 
Sermons to M. Cong. 



120 Plain Sermons. 

throne is immeasurably separated from Him 
when compared with Mary. The prophets 
were holy because they were God's specially 
chosen teachers; the Apostles of Jesus Christ 
were likewise gifted with sanctity, because 
it was their function to carry to the nations 
the tidings of salvation through the bloody 
sacrifice of the Redeemer. The angels are 
holy, as we have said, because of the service 
they render at the great white throne; but 
high above prophet and apostle, high over 
angel and archangel, cherubim and sera- 
phim, high above thrones, dominations and 
powers, stands Mary, God's Mother, peerless 
in sanctity. This creature God not only 
loved and blest, adorning her soul with the 
choicest of His wondrous gifts, but He 
served her and obeyed her. u Erat subditus 
illis." "He was subject to them." (1) 

She was immune from any stain of human 
frailty. Such a freedom from even the 
remote suggestion of sin was not only 
expedient but necessary in the divine plan 
for man's redemption; for had she not been 
free from all stain, from the very first 

1 Luke II, 51. 



The Virgin Mother. 121 

moment of her conception, then would it 
have been possible for Satan thus to address 
himself to the Divinity: "Thou wouldst con- 
quer sin! Know, then, that Thy Son, 'ere 
He become my conqueror, must fall beneath 
the shadow of my evil influence; for from 
amongst the children of men, must he take 
to Himself that body which He will offer 
upon Calvary's altar to appease Thy mighty 
wrath, but through man's first disobedience 
all flesh is mine, and a common heritage of 
human kind is the stain of iniquity." 
Hence, in consideration of Mary's exalted 
position, as the Mother of the Son of God, 
in consideration of His personal dignity, 
and the perfection of His victory over sin 
and death, she was by God's wondrous 
power conceived Immaculate . Most fittingly , 
then, does the Church address her in those 
beautiful words of the Canticle, u Tota 
pulchraes, macula non est in te." "All 
fair art thou, in thee there is no stain." 
(1) The only possible idea of a sinlessness 
and sanctity superior to the sinlessness and 
sanctity which we predicate of Mary, is that 

1 Cant. IV, 7. 



122 Plain Sermons. 

which has exclusive relation to God's per- 
sonal holiness. When we apply our poor 
little minds to the contemplation of Mary's 
position as God's Mother, and the sanctity, 
the nearness to God, which result from it, 
we are led to the thought of her glory. 
Lost, overcome at the thought of the depths 
of her greatness and glory, and desiring to 
offer her some little tribute of praise, we 
find ourselves helpless. "I know not, O 
Mary, with what praises I may extol thee," 
cries St. Bernadin, of Sienna. 

When the priests and the ancients came 
nigh to the gates of Bethulia to greet the 
valiant Judith, returning from that glorious 
deed of blood, which made her the emanci- 
pator of her oppressed people, they greeted 
her with a nation's grateful praise: u Tu 
gloria Jerusalem, tu laetitia Israel, tu 
honorificencia populi nostri." "Thou art 
the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of 
Israel, thou art the honor of our people." 
(1) If these words were fittingly applied to 
the Israelitish woman for a deed of unques- 
tionable valor, the slaughter of Holof ernes, 
1 Jud. xv, 9. 



The Virgin Mother. 1 28 

how immeasurably more due is their appli- 
cation to Mary, the real glory of Jerusalem, 
of whom Judith, by Divine providence, was 
but a type and shadow; Mary, the joy of 
Israel, who gave to Israel and to the world 
the source and fountain head of eternal joy, 
her Son, Jesus Christ. Verily, is she the 
honor of our people. Yea, the honor of our 
race, for in her the race is uplifted, and 
from her spotless womb came forth our sal- 
vation. "Blessed art thou, O Daughter, 
by the Lord the Most High God, above all 
women upon earth." (1) 

When we consider the relationship exist- 
ing between Mary and Jesus, the Son of 
God, and the sanctity, greatness and glory 
consequent upon that relationship, we are 
bound to conclude Mary's power. That 
such a creature should be without power 
with God, a creature who is to such a great 
extent an object of Divine attention and 
favor is utterly unreasonable and unintel- 
ligible. Mary exercised over Jesus Christ 
a power of command: "He was subject to 
them." (2) This power changed the 

1 Jud. XIII, 23. 

2 Luke II, 51. 



124 Plain Sermons. 

Divine plan, as we know from the history 
of the miracle at Cana in Galilee. It is 
true that the Savior said in a tone of re- 
monstrance, "My hour is not yet come,' 5 
but Mary, nothing daunted, simply bade 
the servants follow His directions, and the 
result of her mighty intercession was a stu- 
pendous miracle. "The limpid water saw 
its God and blushed." The relations which 
existed between Jesus and Mary, while they 
walked the earth, have changed in no essen- 
tial. Mary is still the mother of the God- 
Man and Jesus Christ clad in the vesture of 
His might, and surrounded by the dazzling 
splendor of His matchless glory, is still the 
Child of Mary. She has lost nought of her 
power by being glorified and associated with 
her Son in the felicity of His celestial 
kingdom; but rather has that power been 
augmented and exalted. Mary is not only 
Christ's Mother, but she is heaven's Queen. 
How does she use her power? She has a 
vocation in the Church that brings her 
power into play. 

It was growing dark upon Calvary, and 
the Redeemer of the world was hanging 



The Virgin Mother. 125 

upon the gibbet of ignominy, dying amidst 
the most excruciating agonies of soul and 
body. His dripping blood was stealing 
adown the cross, and burying itself in the 
soil of Golgotha, and in the shadow of that 
cross stood the Mother of Sorrows, and John 
the Beloved. They were gazing up intently 
at the pallid countenance of the expiring 
Christ, noting with anguish every twitch of 
the muscles and every groan. In a few 
moments all would be over. His soul 
struggled to free itself from His mangled 
body, and wing its its flight to the Eternal 
Father, but there must it tarry until the 
cup of bitterness was drained to the veriest 
dreg. He had given us all. He had 
taught His gospel both by word and example. 
He had left us the means of salvation, 
and with a sort of abandon He had surren- 
dered Himself to us in the Sacrament of the 
Altar; He was even now pouring forth His 
blood in the most awful of tragedies. He 
had given us all, all save one boon, and now 
in His dying hour, in order that the measure 
of His generosity might be absolutely per- 
fect, He gave us His last legacy, the final 



126 Plain Sermons. 

testimony of His Infinite love, that being, 
namely, whom He loved above all others 
npon earth or in heaven, His Father ex- 
cepted, Mary, His Virgin Mother. "Son," 
said He to John the Beloved, "Behold thy 
Mother!" "Woman, behold thy Son!" (1) 
And as one of the best fonnded and most 
sacred traditions points ont, Christ by this 
act bestowed Mary as a Mother upon the 
whole human family. Bvery act of Jesus 
Christ during His earthly career had for its 
motive the salvation of men's souls, for this 
was the reason of His coming. Hence, we 
conclude that the motive underlying the 
bestowal of His Mother upon the race, was 
that man's salvation should be facilitated 
by her intercession. Another legitimate 
conclusion is that Mary is our Mother in a 
most practical sense, and possesses in our 
regard all those sentiments which fill a 
mother's heart towards her children. Mary, 
therefore, loves me and is solicitous in my 
regard. I know that her will is in perfect 
conformity with the will of her Divine Son, 
and, therefore, that she desires most ardently 

1 Joan XIX, 26, 27. 



The Virgin Mother* 121 

what that Son desires, and we know by faith 
that the chief longing of the heart of Christ 
is that his Father may be glorified by the 
salvation of men. Mary, then, is most 
active in our regard, and her chief solicitude 
is in the direction of J:hat, for the achieve- 
ment of which Jesus Christ gave His blessed 
life, namely, — our eternal welfare. Her 
solicitude in our behalf is expressed in her 
numerous supplications for us. We may 
fancy her prostrate at the throne of her 
glorified Son, imploring for us all, sinners 
and saints alike, everything that the ten- 
derness of a Mother's heart suggests. She 
is not simply the mother of those who keep 
the law, and are fervent in the service of her 
Son, nay, she is the Mother of the wicked 
also, and hence is it that the Church applies 
to her the appellation of Refuge of Sinners, 
"Refugium peccatorum." As the act of 
redemption comprehends in its scope all 
men, so in like manner does the Motherhood 
of Mary. Not only, then, for the fervent 
and the pious does Mary beseech grace, but 
with an earnestness indescribable she prays 
for her wayward children. This, then, is 



128 Plain Sermons. 

Mary's vocation in the Church; such the 
exercise of her wondrous power. She is 
our guide. As a mother leads her little one 
by the hand, so will Mary lead us through 
our pilgrimage, if we seek her guidance. 
When filled with the consciousness of our 
weakness and incapability, what an abun- 
dance of consolation is found in knowing 
Mary's love, Mary's solicitude, Mary's 
power. 

The place of Mary in the Church estab- 
lishing, as it does, this relationship between 
God's Mother and us, clearly involves a 
definite attitude on our part toward her. 
Surely there should be found in our hearts 
sentiments of honor, love and confidence. 
Honor, who will dare to refuse honor to that 
creature whom God has so singularly sought 
out and so lavishly honored? Who will 
reproach me for my effort (feeble though it 
be) to imitate the action of my God in ven- 
erating her, to whom He made Himself sub- 
ject? The attitude of Protestantism toward 
Mary is a most palpable insult to Jesus 
Christ Himself. What shall I say of the 
love for Mary, which should abide in my 



The Virgin Mother. 129 

heart? How tenderly, how yearningly 
should I love that purest, most blessed of 
creatures who, by a mystery of Divine 
Providence has given me my Savior! How 
much, indeed, for His sake should I love 
her, and particularly since in His wondrous 
charity He has given her to me as a Mother, 
thus further establishing her title to my 
heart's love. In this love must be found 
that element of confidence which brings 
about a sense of secure dependence upon 
Mary, which prompts us to seek her out, 
to tell her the story of our woes and mis- 
haps, and look up into her radiant counte- 
nance with an appeal for help. Yes, it is a 
love which tells us that our supplications 
are never in vain, provided only we are sin- 
cere. We feel most intimately that she is 
our help when we walk in the narrow path 
of Christian duty, and that she is our refuge 
when we have fallen by life's wayside, con- 
quered by sin. 

She is our life, our sweetness and our 
hope! Unfortunately, there has appeared 
among us a sort of tendency to apologize to 
our Protestant brethren for Mary's exalted 



130 Plain Sermons, 

position in ,the Church, an effort to mini- 
mize in some fashion her vocation in the 
matter of man's redemption. Nothing but 
a lack of Catholic sentiment, and an ignor- 
ance of Catholic theology, could be the 
efficient causes of such a tendency. And 
yet there are those who fancy that to bring 
souls to the knowledge of the truth, such 
compromising methods are expedient. Let 
us not separate the Child from Mary, Its 
Mother. Let us love her with an unreserved 
love, never fearing that our love for her will 
in any manner lessen the love we owe to 
Jesus, her Son and our Redeemer. 

Let us make her the repository of all our 
anxieties, hopes and fears. Let us suppli- 
cate her, that through her wondrous inter- 
cession we may walk in the way of life, and 
if, perchance, our lives have been estranged 
from God and His law, O, then let us fly to 
her for refuge, stretching out hands of help- 
lessness to the Tower of Strength and For- 
titude, begging her to come to our assist- 
ance, that she may support our tottering 
limbs through life, and may be to us at the 
close of our pilgrimage what the Church so 
beautifully calls her, the u Gateof Heaven." 



CONSOLATRIX AFFLICTORUM. 

Dearly Beloved, this world has been well 
named a battle-field and every life a contest, 
for there are no featnres more prominent in 
the vast majority of hnman lives than strug- 
gle, pain and suffering. What is more 
thoroughly known than anguish, wretched- 
ness of soul and heart-break, distress at the 
sufferings and mishaps of those about us, 
or those connected with us by the cords of 
Adam, or the ties of friendship; sickness, 
the pinch of poverty and cold, injustice and 
fraud? Even where these all are apparently 
absent, and where there seems to reign 
peace and contentment, the happiness is 
only seeming, for there is present the con- 
sciousness that the joy will shortly end, 
nay more, that it may turn to bitterness. 
Every human joy lacks the guarantee of 
permanency, every human love is exposed 
to the danger of inconstancy. The poor 
man's life is a desperate struggle to keep a 
little home, to fill hungry little mouths, and 

(131) 



132 Plain Sermons. 

to cover little bodies. When these young 
people grow up, it is for the most part only 
to face the uphill road of life, and to pre- 
pare to carry on in their turn the same old 
struggle. The rich man secures himself, 
mayhap, against the misfortunes which con- 
stantly harass his poor brother, and hold 
the rod over him, but when the conviction 
is reached, that gold does not bring peace, 
and when in the silence of his couch at dead 
of night, the despised conscience rises up 
accusingly before his mind's eye, then, 
indeed, the soul of the rich man is filled 
with bitterness. 

The struggle against suffering and 
wretchedness is universal and fierce but un- 
successful. Here and there it may appear 
triumphant, but the victory is of a most 
ephemeral character, and the struggle itself 
an agony. The law of suffering is univer- 
sal. It is as much of an inheritance as 
original sin, of which it is the direct con- 
sequence. It is preposterous to suppose 
that we can eliminate it from life, hence it 
is madness to make the attempt. It is true 
that diligent effort can modify it in many 



Co?isolatrix Afflict onim. 133 

cases, and render its keen edge dull to some 
degree, but this in no wise disposes of the 
general truth, that it is universal and una- 
voidable. 

What should be the Christian's attitude 
toward suffering? Before answering this 
query it is expedient to observe that we 
should by God's law utilize any legitimate 
means for the abatement or elimination of 
those sufferings, which injure our beings 
and render us incapable of performing our 
duties in life, but as regards those sufferings 
which are unavoidable, we would say in 
answer to the question proposed above, that 
the Christian attitude toward these is one of 
patience and resignation. It is so easy to 
state this, but so difficult, alas, to reduce it 
to practice. It so often happens that one is 
the innocent victim of another's evil deeds, 
and when trial after trial wears out the poor 
guiltless heart that never, perhaps, did 
aught to injure another, nay, on the con- 
trary, frequently sought out means, may- 
hap, to alleviate others' woes, that heart, I 
say, by a mighty impulse of nature cries 
out in rebellion against this seeming in jus 



134 Plain Sermons. 

tice of God, unless happily it be restrained 
by the power of His grace. And when suf- 
fering is not so undeserved, when the vic- 
tim can trace its causes to his own sins; by 
reason of the ravages which those very sins 
have wrought on his moral nature, it is 
more difficult to bring into play patience 
and resignation. Left to ourselves we could 
never accomplish the task. The influences 
on the side of our nature are far too strong; 
but our holy Mother, the Church, comes to 
the rescue. She proposes and emphasizes 
the example of Jesus Christ and lays open 
to us the marvelous helps to be easily ob- 
tained at His hands. She further insists 
that in Him, above and before all else, we 
should seek our consolation and strength 
amid the trials of life, but knowing the enor- 
mous sympathetic value of proposing to us 
as a model a suffering creature, who could 
be model at once and consoler, she hails 
God's blessed Mother, as "Consolatrix afflic- 
torum . n " Consoler of the afflicted . 5 ' She 
bids us look upon her as an exemplar, and 
in the midst of our tears and groans to cry 
out to her for assistance. 



Consolatrix Atflictorum. 135 

There is no title bestowed by the Church 
upon the Virgin Mother which so tenderly 
touches the hearts of Catholics as that of 
"Mater Dolorosa." When Mary carried 
her precious Babe into the temple to fulfill 
the Mosaic law of presentation, an old 
prophet of Israel, speaking to this em- 
barrassed little maid and mother, assured 
her that a sword of sorrow should pierce 
her soul. With what harrowing precision 
is that prophecy fulfilled! What a torrent 
of anguish engulfed that sweet, pure life 
with the awful prospect of Golgotha's bloody 
tragedy constantly before her. How it 
robbed of perfect joy every kiss she im- 
printed upon His little face, every embrace 
with which she folded Him to her loving 
heart; what an impenetrable gloom it cast 
upon her domestic life. True, she con- 
sidered herself the most honored and in a 
sense the happiest of Israel's daughters, 
and with great reason, but the wondrous 
privilege of divine maternity was dearly 
purchased, for it was to render her the most 
afflicted of creatures. If she rejoiced at 
finding Him in the temple, after the weary 



136 Plain Sermons. 

and anxious search of several days, that joy 
was alloyed by the consciousness that she 
would lose Him again amid circumstances 
too ghastly for description. Though she^ re- 
joiced that He went about working miracles, 
making the deaf to hear, the blind to see, 
the lame to walk and even the dead to shake 
off corruption and come forth from the grave 
in the freshness of new life; though it 
gladdened her heart that crowds followed 
Him and acclaimed Him a great Prophet, 
yet, she knew that many who had been 
blessed by His merciful ministrations would 
forget Him, and it was hers to hear the 
same voices that had praised Him in 
Hosannas, clamor for His blood. Who 
shall sound the depths of her sorrow as she 
stood in the gloom upon Calvary's summit, 
listening to the drip, drip of her Child's 
precious blood as it splashed at her feet and 
buried itself in the soil of the mountain? 
How keenly every blow that was dealt upon 
Jesus fell upon the shoulders of the Immacu- 
late! How every thorn that pierced His 
divine brow racked her aching brain! How 
every pain and degradation of the Incarnate 



Co7isolatrix Afflictorum. 137 

God was echoed and reflected in her pure 
heart! -Is it a matter of marvel that the 
Church addresses her as " Queen of Mar- 
tyrs?" Truly, may it be said that she died 
with Jesus before she was called upon to 
pay nature's debt by her own physical 
death. 

"At the cross her station keeping, 
Stood the mournful Mother, weeping, 

Close to Jesus to the last; 
Through her heart— His sorrow sharing, 
All His bitter anguish bearing, 

Lo! the piercing sword has passed.'' 

The saints tell us that no love of God is 
ever intense without suffering - , and so that 
creature who loved God most intensely had 
to suffer most. There is more agony im- 
plied in her presence on Calvary's summit 
than can be uttered by human tongue, and 
the pen even of a Bernard scribbles when 
describing the anguish of God's Mother on 
that dread occasion; yet this was but the 
culmination, the zenith of sufferings that 
were incipient when" she began the fulfill- 
ment of her sublime vocation. Mater Do- 
lorosa! How fitting the title! How pow- 
erfully her example arraigns the self-indul- 



138 Plain Sermo?is. 

gent, the cowardly, the rebellious, the un- 
resigned! How eloquently does her silent 
suffering preach the Cross of Christ! 

The merit of Mary's anguish was in her 
obedience, self -surrender and flawless resig- 
nation. Because of these the Church sets 
her before us as a model of uncomplaining 
suffering. Not only, however, because she 
is for us a model, but also because of a won- 
drous sympathy in the heart of Mary in our 
regard — a sympathy which finds expression 
in helping us to bear our burdens bravely , 
or in lightening them when they are too 
heavy for our poor sustaining powers. We 
know by faith that an infinite yearning for 
sinners fills the heart of Christ, and by con- 
sequence we know that after the love of her 
God, Mary's longing affection for us is the 
predominant sentiment of her soul; for she, 
the most perfect of creatures, loved what 
Jesus loved, and desired what He desired. 
This sympathetic love in Mary for us 
touches us more nearly, and impresses itself 
upon us more strongly, by virtue of the fact 
of her own personal sorrows and sufferings. 
I know that Mary not only knows my trials 



Co?isolairix Afflictorum. 13£ 

and pains, but that she feels for me. If my 
history has had dark places, so, indeed, has 
her's. If my nerves have throbbed with 
pain, so, indeed, have her's. If my 
poor heart has been torn with grief, so, 
indeed, has her's. If I have had to face 
the uphill road of life, and to struggle 
against most discouraging opposition, so, 
indeed, has she. Though the shadow oi 
sin never exerted its baneful influence upon 
her all pure spirit, yet all the repugnances 
and the miseries of the human heart save 
those which come only as the direct results 
of personal guilt, were by her both known 
and felt. This it is which makes her appeal 
so strikingly to us the " Consoler of the 
afflicted." How many a rebellious spirit 
has been soothed into submission by a 
prayer to this Mother of Consolation! How 
many a poor, broken heart, about to sink 
beneath the burden of misery and sin, has 
been buoyed up by crying out to her with a 
dying voice! Who will count the bereaved 
ones whose hearts had turned to lead, that 
have efficaciously looked up to Mary and 
found solace? What marvels of patience, 



140 Plain Sermons, 

resignation and fortitude have resulted from 
the contemplation of Mary in her mighty 
heart-bursting sorrow at the foot of the 
cross, upon which hung the mangled body 
of her Beloved One, dying a victim of human 
frenzy? 

Beloved, in the light of all that I have 
said, we begin to understand in some meas- 
ure the strange words to which the saints 
have given utterance about the sweetness of 
pain and the delight of suffering, for, with 
the example and help of Mary it is easy to 
apprehend the spiritual value of pain, 
patiently endured for Christ's sake. Our 
spiritual vision expands and is strength- 
ened, so that gradually we become able to 
penetrate the mists which usually obscure 
it, and to perceive that the sufferings of this 
little pilgrimage, short at its greatest 
length, are trivial, indeed. We live in an 
age when luxuries are demanded on every 
side; when some of the best efforts put forth 
by human endeavor have for their motive 
the diminution, (since the total elimination 
is confessedly impossible), of pain and in- 
convenience. So powerful and widespread 
is the idea of comfort, and in some sense 



Coyisolatrix Afflictorum. 141 

luxury, that even children of the kingdom 
fall in great numbers under its influence, 
and so we endeavor to serve God with as 
little mortification or inconvenience as pos- 
sible. Our Blessed Lord has assured us 
that none can be His disciples without tast- 
ing of the cross, and, therefore, we conclude 
that the sort of service of which we have just 
spoken, obscures the true idea of disciple- 
ship. Wherever the truest expression of 
that discipleship appears, the cross is one of 
its leading characteristics, and in Mary, the 
disciple, par excellence, the cross is over- 
whelmingly in evidence. Let us hold Mary 
very dear under the title which I have used 
as a text, and when the gloom thickens, 
and when pain and anguish, sadness and 
desolation and heartburnings settle down 
upon us, when we fall victims to others' 
misrepresentations, slanders and injustices, 
Let the cry of our hearts be: Consoler of the 
afflicted, pray for me! O thou whoknowest 
suffeiing so well, thou who art my Mother, 
and who dost yearn for me, help me, sup- 
port me, chasten my proud spirit with 
patience and resignation. Mother of sor- 
rows, pray for me. 



THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 

"Tota pulchra es Maria, et macula orig 
inalis non est in te. n (Antiph. ex Laud 
Off. Im. Con.) 

The addition of new and vain doctrines tc 
the deposit of faith, once delivered by out 
Blessed Savior to the Apostles, is, perhaps, 
the chief contention of Protestantism against 
the Catholic Church. These so-called accre- 
tions are regarded by our separated brethren 
as corruptions, which constituted sufficient 
ground for the religious rebellion of the 
sixteenth century commonly called the 
"Reformation." 

You will recall, beloved, from the pages 
of the catechism, that one of those notes 
which distinguish the Catholic Church 
from all others claiming the Christian title, 
is that she is Apostolic. That is, she has 
always taught, and will continue till time's 
end to teach, only the doctrines which the 
Apostles taught, and which they in turn 
received directly and immediately from Jesus 

(142) 



The Immaculate Conception. 143 

Christ. The Church, therefore, can teach 
no new doctrine, as there is no new revela- 
tion. The doctrines which Christ revealed, 
however, were not such as to be seen in all 
their fullness at once. As time sped on- 
ward in its course, the disciples of Christ 
began to study and reflect more and more 
upon the beliefs of Christianity, and as a 
natural result, there arose from time to time, 
discussions and disputes as to whether this 
or that belief was really contained in the 
original revelation of Christ. At these 
junctures, the teaching body of the Church, 
endowed by Christ Himself with the pleni- 
tude of authority, took the disputed matter 
under consideration, and finally, under the 
protection of God's Holy Spirit, promised 
by Christ to the Church, pronounced upon 
the question finally, and settled the matter 
forever. The existence of such a tribunal, 
pronouncing authoritatively upon such 
issues, is a logical necessity in the Church, 
in order that the faithful be not tossed "to 
and fro, and carried about by every wind of 
doctrine." (1) Let me make the matter more 

1 Eph. IV, 13, 14. 



144 Plai?i Sermons. 

clear to you by a few facts from the history 
of the Church. About three hundred years 
after the death of Christ, there was rnuch 
disputing amongst Christians as to whether 
Jesus was in very truth God like the Father. 
A certain Churchman had denied Our 
Blessed Lord's divinity, and had declared 
that Christ was the Son of God only in an 
adoptive or restricted sense; that He was not 
begotten of the. Father before all ages. And 
when the bosom of the Church had been 
torn by the controversy, which the conten- 
tions of this great heresiarch had occasioned, 
the fathers in Israel, the bishops of the 
Church, came together under the Presidency 
of the Pope's representatives, and promul- 
gated, or defined, as we say, the dogma of 
Christ's divinity. They solemnly declared 
that it was of faith to acknowledge Jesus as 
God of God, Light of Light, very God of 
very God. One hundred years after this 
solemn assembly, which convened in the 
year of our Lord 325, and was called the 
Council of Nice, there arose in the Church 
a mighty strife, concerning the divine 
maternity of Our Blessed Lady. Some 



The Immaculate Cojiccption. 145 

maintained that since she was but a creature, 
and since it was but the human portion of 
Christ that came forth from her, she, there- 
fore, could not be the Mother of God, but 
was simply the Mother of God's human na- 
ture. Again the teaching authority was 
called upon to declare to the faithful through- 
out the world the revealed truth concerning 
the matter in dispute. The solemn and 
universal Council of Kphesus, which con- 
vened in the year 431, declared that as Jesus 
Christ was One Person, the God-Man, and 
as Mary had given birth to that One Person, 
she was in very truth Mother of God, and 
furthermore, the Sacred Synod decreed that 
those who would hold to the unity of Christ's 
Church, must accept and believe this solemn 
definition. And so I might conduct you down 
through the centuries of the Christian era, 
showing you the same phenomenon from 
time to time until the present age. Every 
truth which the Church has defined was, 
therefore, contained in the deposit of faith, 
which fell from the lips of our Blessed Lord, 
and there can be nothimg novel in the 
Church' s teachings concerning faith. Chris- 



146 Plain Sermons. 

tianity was not meant to be a lifeless, stag- 
nant thing from the beginning; for, it was 
to go through a process of unfolding, of 
manifesting to every succceeding age won- 
drous treasures which it had from the 
beginning, but which were not always 
flashed forth with the same brilliancy upon 
the eyes of beholders. We know that the 
bud contains the petals, which will shortly 
show themselves beneath the sun's warm 
rays, a vision of loveliness and a treasure 
house of perfume, but it is only by gradual 
development that the rose reaches this full 
perfection. We know, too, that the mighty 
giant of the forest is contained in the little 
acorn that lies so humbly in our path, yet 
it is only by slow developments that it 
begins to take on its majestic bearing. 

Let us now come to the consideration of 
the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. 
But first let me ask, what does the Church 
really mean by this doctrine? You know, 
beloved, that as a consequence of Adam's 
fall we are all conceived and t born in sin. 
Our first parent held our spiritual for- 
tunes in the hollow of his hand, and faith- 



The Immaculate Conception. 147 

less to God, to himself and to us, lie fell, 
and by Divine decree we, as liis unhappy 
children, fell with him. We come into the 
world children of wrath, bearing the taint 
of the original transgression. Now the 
Catholic Church teaches that Mary, by vir- 
tue of her great vocation as Mother of Jesus 
Christ, was in the very first instant of her 
conception rendered Immaculate, that is, 
free from every stain of original sin. This 
blessed truth was proclaimed and defined by 
Pius IX of illustrious memory, surrounded 
by the Bishops whom he had gathered from 
every portion of the globe, in order to take 
counsel of them, before announcing to the 
entire world this sacred dogma of our faith. 
What has been already said will make clear 
to you what that proclamation meant, 
namely, that the doctrine of the Immacu- 
late Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary 
is contained in the original deposit of faith 
given by Christ to His Apostles. 

There is nothing novel in the idea of 
Mary's Immaculateness. We find expres- 
sions in the writings of the ancient Fathers 
of the Church which clearly tell us their 



148 Plain Sermons, 

mind upon the matter. Origen, who dates 
from the second century of our era, exclaims 
that " Mary was not like Eve, deceived by 
the Devil, nor was she infected with any of 
his venum." (1) By another she is called, 
u Purer than the angels," purer, mind you, 
than those blessed spirits who have never 
known original guilt. St. Ephrem, in the 
fourth century, says: "As in Thee, O Lord, 
there is no sin, so no stain blights Thy pure 
Mother's soul." (2) When St. Augustine, 
of the same period, treats of the general fall 
of the race through Adam, he declares that 
he wishes to exclude from his discussion 
the sacred Virgin, who was the Mother of 
the Word Incarnate, "For," says he, "the 
honor of God demands that her name be 
not mentioned where there is question of 
sin." (3) 

The dogma of the Immaculate Conception 
impresses itself upon the Catholic mind, 
especially, by its fitness. We read in the 
ninth chapter of the book of Proverbs these 
words: l l Wisdom hath built herself a house. ' ' 

1 Orig. Horn. I. 

2 Ephrem. (In Carininibus Nisit.) 

3 Aug. (de Nat. et Gratia., C. 36.) 



The Immaculate Conception. 149 

The Doctors who have offered an expia- 
tion of these words agree, that the honse 
spoken of is the Blessed Virgin Mary. 
Wisdom designates the Uncreated Wisdom, 
that is, God Himself. Now there is men- 
tion of an altogether special and particular 
work which Divine Wisdom performs. 
There is not a reference to those multitudi- 
nous works which He performs without 
spending special thoughts upon them, (if I 
may dare so speak): u He spake and they 
were made." Not only is there question 
of Wisdom building a special house, but 
there is indication of a special purpose, for 
the text says: " Wisdom hath built herself 
a house." Hence it is a tabernacle wherein 
the God-head shall rest. Can you imagine 
that the Almighty would build up this rest- 
ing place for His Divinity, and then allow it 
to be polluted by the vile breath of sin — 
allow it to become the dwelling house of 
devils, before it came into the possession of 
its rightful Owner? Can you believe that 
Mary's womb could ever become the fitting 
habitation of an All-pure God, if by original 
sin it had once been the possession of that 



150 Plain Sermons, 

arch-adversary of man's salvation whom 
Jesns came to conquer and to dispossess? 
Beloved, the Savior's victory over sin would 
be but partial if he could find only a habita- 
tion that had been once under the baneful 
influence of iniquity. It is repugnant to 
the Catholic mind that the first and most 
precious ciborium that ever held the Incar- 
nate Word of God should ever have been, 
even for the most infinitesimal portion of a 
moment, under the dominion of Satan. 
"Hail, full of grace!" said the angel to 
Mary, full of that quality which makes the 
creature likest God, full of that influence 
which is the very negation of sin. It is 
difficult to understand how anyone having 
even a rudimentary notion of the demands 
of God's honor could attribute the slightest 
sinfulness to that being, who was the Spouse 
of the Holy Ghost and the Mother of the 
Son of God. Her wondrous dignity involv- 
ing, as it does, such intimacy with the 
Triune God, makes it imperative that she 
be conceived without sin. How fittingly , 
then, does the Spouse of Christ address her 



The Immaculate Conception. 151 

in those words of the Canticle: u Thou art 
all fair, in thee there is no stain. " (1) 

The dogma of the Immaculate Conception 
is something which the Catholic heart re- 
ceives with joy. That heart will never 
believe that the Church could predicate 
excessive . purity of the Mother of God. 
For centuries before the definition of this 
dogma, its feast was celebrated with solem- 
nity throughout the Church, and the touch- 
ing devotion of the faithful to Mary, under the 
title of the Immaculate, was always a uni- 
versal evidence of how Catholic instinct 
welcomed the doctrine. 

Mary was redeemed, it is true, yet not as 
one of us. She was not rescued from sin 
after it had blown its tainted breath upon 
her, but she was preserved by the hand of 
God from its approach. She is not as one 
who is rescued from the surging billows after 
shipwreck, but rather as one who is con- 
ducted safely into port, before the break of 
the storm, or before its sullen roar is heard. 
The purity and serenity of her life were the 
logical continuation of her immaculate be- 

1 Cant, of Cant. IV, 7. 



152 Plain Sermons. 

ginning. Passions never strove for ascend- 
ency in her bosom; good and evil never 
struggled in that heart, and amid all her 
sorrow and anguish the peace of her soul 
was never jarred. "Her spirit/' says a 
famous preacher, "came into existence 
serene and peaceful as a ship glides in the 
morning light from a safe harbor into a 
tranquil sea, with a glow upon her sails 
from the sun which shall never set in all 
her happy voyage." "Mary is to walk 
through a world of mire immaculate, no 
stain on her purity, no dross on. her charity, 
no obstacle to her love of God. ' (1) Her's, 
indeed, was the path of the righteous, l ■ which 
as the shining light goeth forward and in- 
creaseth even to the perfect day." As a 
drop of poison can render worthless a 
draught of the purest water, so the slightest 
influence of sin would have rendered Mary 
unfit for the great work of her vocation. 
How marvelously close was she to the 
source of all goodness and purity. He was 
blood of her blood, bone of her bone, flesh 
of her flesh, having her very lineaments 

1. Bishop Hedley, O. S. B., "The Virgin Mother." 



The Immaculate Conception. 153 

and expression. "It is surely no matter of 
marvel," says Newman, "that she left 
behind her in the Church an ordor like 
cinnamon and balm, and sweetness like to 
choice myrrh." 

The Church fearlessly and confidingly 
bows down to this wonderful woman. She 
calls her the Mother of Mercy, the Seat of 
Wisdom, the Help of Christians, and the 
Refuge of Sinners, the Inviolate, the Most 
Chaste, the Most Pure, and in all this she 
but faintly imitates the Almighty, who not 
only showered upon her the riches of His 
grace, but He Himself became subject to 
her. "He was subject to them." (1) She 
reflects the royalty of God, whose master- 
piece she is. It is with great fitness in this 
age troublous with avarice, selfishness, lust 
and indifference to God and eternity, an age 
in which the babble of mammon obscures, 
nay, well nigh smothers, the voice of the 
Church, that a great Pontiff, upon the 
watch-tower of Israel, should cry out with 
a voice of thunder, which reverberates to the 

1 Luc. II, 51. 



154 Plain Sermons. 

uttermost bounds of the earth, calling 
Christ's servants to the veneration of Mary 
Immaculate. (1) The Church has always 
called upon Mary in every great crisis, know- 
ing full well her vocation in the Church and 
realizing her power. She is called the ex- 
terminator of heresies in the sacred liturgy. 
And so, at the present time, while celebrat- 
ing the golden jubilee of the definition of 
her sinless conception, we are called upon to 
supplicate her, not only to check the prog- 
ress of error in an irreligious age, but as 
the Immaculate Virgin, to stem by her 
power the tide of sensuality and lust that 
threatens to engulf society. An illustrious 
convert of the last century once said in a 
sermon on the " Glories of Mary," that, "it 
was a boast of the Catholic Church that it 
had the gift of making the young heart 
chaste; and why is this, but that it gives us 
Jesus Christ for our food, and Mary for our 
nursing mother." (2) Vindicate the claim of 
the Church, beloved, by fulfilling this boast 
in your own lives. Alas, how much we 
need the protection and the help of Mary 

1 Jubilee of Im. Con., 1904. 

2 Newman, "Glories of Mary." 



The Immaculate Conception. 155 

in the matter of preserving that virtue 
which her Immaculate Conception suggests. 
During these latter days even the public 
sense of decency is not easily offended, so 
lax has become the idea of social morality. 
Time was when it was demanded by public 
sentiment, at least, to conceal vice, but now 
there is an unmistakable shamelessness 
shown in pandering openly to the nastiest 
instincts of the human heart. This, of 
course, is not true in those rural districts 
where the vices of the cities have not pene- 
trated. But in the larger communities it is 
most palpable. So sensuous has the theatre 
become, that unless a production has some 
suggestive feature, it rarely succeeds. The 
theatrical advertisements which make the 
streets hideous, clearly indicate a morbid 
public taste. A large portion of current 
literature is suffused with corruption. We 
laugh at and repeat jokes which our 
fathers and mothers would have regarded as 
extremely objectionable, not because they 
were narrow, but because they had a finer 
moral sense than we. Worse than all this, 
we have in large measure lost the Catholic 



156 Plain Sermons. 

conviction that sensuality is a grave iniquity. 
The spirit of the age has so dominated many 
of us that we look upon it as a pardonable 
weakness. Surrounded, then, as we are 
with temptation, met at every turn with 
occasions and incentives to sin, it is, indeed, 
expedient that we take refuge in Mary Im- 
maculate. Let us pray to her with fervor, 
and a lively consciousness of our danger, to 
shield and protect us from the snares that 
are laid for us, and from the promptings of 
our own rebellious nature. Let us for the 
better securing of our virtue resolve on the 
daily practice of some little devotion to her 
Immaculate Conception. We can make a 
contract with Mary, so to speak, whereby 
we may obtain her special help, for the 
offering of some special little honor to her. 
If, perhaps, we have been unfortunate 
enough to have fallen victims to sin, nay, 
more, if we have been enthralled in habits 
of sin, let us not despair, for Mary is not 
only the protectress of our virtue, but she 
is our refuge and our hope if, unhappily, 
we have lost it. Let us ask her assistance 
to rise from the slavery of bad habits, be- 



The Immaculate Conception. 157 

seeching her to stretch out to us her ma- 
ternal arms, to hold us up in our helpless- 
ness, and even when purified by penance 
and restored to God's grace, let us bid her 
remember our former weaknesses, and to lead 
us about as a mother leadeth her little one by 
the hand. 

"Hail, Queen of the Heavens! 

Hail, Mistress of Earth! 
Hail, Virgin most pure, 

Of immaculate birth! 
Clear Star of the morning, 

In beauty enshrined! 
O Lady, make speed 

To the help of mankind. 93 



WORLDLINESS IN RELIGION. 

"You cannot serve God and mammon." (1) 

Beloved: It does not require any profound 
study of the New Testament to see most 
clearly that the religion of Jesus Christ is 
pre-eminently a religion of the cross, and 
that the standards which He set up are the 
perfect antitheses of those of the world. 
We hear a good deal at the present time 
about a certain reconciliation of the Church 
with the world or with the age. The idea 
is founded upon a mistaken notion of Chris- 
tianity, a distortion of the character and the 
teaching of Christ, and no theorizing, no 
clever subterfuge will ever effect concord 
between the two irreconcilables. Look at 
society round about us, and you cannot fail 
to observe that one of its most distinguish- 
ing characteristics is indifference to the 
things of God and eternity. The advocates 
of liberalism in religion, of free-thought and 
so-called rationalism, are received into pre- 

1 Iyuke XVI, 13. 

(158) 



Worldliness in Religion. 159 

suinptively Christian society's midst, with 
as much grace as is accorded the truly 
Christian man. It may be added that on 
account of their sophistries, these individ- 
uals are especially interesting to society's 
denizens, if their financial resources will 
sustain them socially. Going to church, at 
least on occasion, is, perhaps, a kind of nec- 
essity for the maintenance of social respect- 
ability, but even where this is in some way 
required, we find the supremest indifference 
to dogma and an unmistakable indifference 
to that high code of morality which is an 
essential feature of Christianity. In the 
whirl of progress and change, Catholicity, 
immutable and unyielding, appears to the 
lukewarm or worldly disciple as quaint and 
trite. It seems to fall behind in the great 
onward march, in which everything is 
bubbling over with progressive energy. It 
lacks flexibility; it does not accommodate 
itself to modern ways of thinking and 
appreciating things. This view is produc- 
tive of an effort on the part of those holding 
it to effect a sort of congruity between the 
demands of religion and those of society, 



160 Plain Sermons. 

and in consequence they suffer shipwreck 
on the rock against which Christ warned us 
in the words of my text, "You cannot serve 
God and mammon." The expression of 
loyalty to Christ and the Church is, through 
lack of moral courage, confined to conven- 
ient times and places. Many are willing to 
serve Christ and listen obediently to the 
Church, when their devotedness does not 
interfere with temporal advancement, or is 
not subjected to cruel criticism or satire. 
The possibility of gaining socially, by the 
sacrifice of a religious point, or a precept of 
the Church, carries with it so much fascina- 
tion, that its conquest of poor weak souls is 
incalculable. They do not openly declare 
themselves anti- Catholic, but glide easily 
into a position of absolute inconsistency. 
There is another phase of this worldliness 
in religion which is directly and positively 
hostile to most sacred doctrines, traditions 
and practices of Catholicity. It manifests 
itself in efforts on the part of deluded Cath- 
olics to obscure those points which sharply 
distinguish Catholicity from Protestantism, 
to set up a system of, contemptible and cow= 



Worldliness in Religion. 161 

ardly apologetics for the Church, as though 
the fair Spouse of Christ could ever ueed to 
apologize to heresy and corruption. The 
guilty ones who are thus disloyal to their 
Holy Mother, are rendered uncomfortable 
by any reference to indulgences, the doc- 
trine concerning the actual power of the 
priesthood to remit sin, the use of sacramen- 
tals, the veneration of relics and images and 
prayers to the Blessed Virgin and the 
Saints. There is often an attempt to mini- 
mize these sacred beliefs and practices. I 
have even known a distinguished Catholic 
to say, regretfully, that there was too much 
attention devoted to the Mother of God and 
the Saints. This can only be regarded as a 
sort of apostasy. It would be a mistake to 
suppose that worldliness in a Catholic 
injured his faith only and not his morals. 
The moral code of the world is extremely 
easy. It takes into sympathetic account all 
our carnal instincts and really offers few 
incentives for self-control save those which 
are necessary to preserve external or public 
decency. The Catholic worldling will easily 
see where the Church is too rigorous, where 



162 Plain Sermons. 

she expects more than human nature can 
offer, and if he does not explicitly repudiate 
her moral code he will at least settle himself 
cozily in the conviction, that his offenses are 
rather expressions of pardonable weakness 
than of malice. 

Another phase of worldliness in religion 
appears in identifying religious practice 
with social distinctions. It is by no means 
an unheard-of thing that certain Catholics, 
considering themselves socially better than 
the majority of people, will not go to assist 
at mass in a church or chapel where God's 
lowly and poor gather about the altar. 
These of "the better class" (to use an 
accepted expression) can only worship God 
in a " fashionable church." This is a 
dreadful commentary on their personal reli- 
gion, in view of the fact that Jesus Christ 
went about as a "tramp" and a "beggar," 
and picked out twelve men from the lowest 
strata of society, and with them upset the 
existing order and renewed the face of the 
earth. Apart from the fact that social pre- 
tentions, in a country like this, are for the 
most part an intolerable foolishness and 



Wor/d/iness in Religion. 163 

arrogance, worthy of no serions attention or 
thought, it must be clear to every reader of 
the New Testament narrative, that to inject 
them into the matter of one's personal rela- 
tions with God is to render religion a mock- 
ery. There exist social distinctions, beyond 
doubt, and they will continue to exist so 
long as society holds to its present organi- 
zation. Their existence, furthermore, is 
perfectly normal, and social science demon- 
strates their necessity, but in the presence 
of Jesus Christ and in the matter of His 
service they dwindle away into nothingness. 
The Church has uniformly despised them. 
It is true that she demands that her ministers 
proceed from decent families, but the decency 
which she insists upon is that which comes 
from the observance of God's law and not 
from social prominence. Hence, the son of 
a swine-herd has sat upon the chair of 
Peter, and the priesthood is recruited gen- 
erally from the lower classes. Though our 
Savior came of royal blood, and had in his 
possession, therefore, the first title to social 
distinction, His whole cateer was one of 
self-effacement. Not only by His marvelous 



164 Plain Sermons. 

example, btit by most emphatic teaching, 
did He insist upon humility in His followers. 
Finally, if we look for Christliness among the 
faithful we find it with far greater frequency 
among the poor and lowly, than among the 
rich and socially distinguished. It is per- 
fectly true, that among those of prominence 
and plenty, we find souls who faithfully 
observe the precepts of Christian life, and 
who by their unselfishness become sources 
of edification in the Church. These, how- 
ever, are not in the same category with those 
misguided souls who decline to kneel by the 
beggar's side, or who refuse to worship God 
save in becoming surroundings. 

Beloved, it behooves us to inspect the 
causes of this worldliness which we have 
rehearsed in some of its aspects. The cause 
which, is probably the most potent is a lack 
of proper religious education. The human 
soul is never so impressionable as in child- 
hood, and its aptitude to the reception of 
religious ideas is nothing short of marvelous, 
but if, unfortunately, the precious years of 
childhood roll by unattended by the proper 
religious training of the tender soul, its 



Iborldliness in Religion. 165 

energies will be absorbed by other ideas of a 
pernicious character which will engross the 
young mind. The child may grow to all 
appearances a child of the Church, but when 
beginning to think for himself at the dawn 
of youth, nay, when master of his action at 
the dawn of manhood, religion will be a 
subject of small anxiety, since its principles 
were never radicated in the soul. Such a 
one has no deep, earnest religious convic- 
tions, and as a consequence is not thoroughly 
persuaded as to the necessity of holding 
fast to every jot and tittle of the faith, and 
as religious truth is the sanction par excel- 
lence of moral law, when this truth is held 
only after a half-hearted or indifferent 
manner, the aforesaid law will not be scru- 
pulously observed. The soul, then, in such 
a poverty-stricken condition as a result of 
inadequate training, is poorly equipped to 
withstand the ever active and ever alluring 
spirit of the world. The individual who is 
possessed of strong Catholic convictions and 
who, besides being firmly rooted in the faith, 
breathes continually a Catholic atmosphere, 
has to battle strenuously and without 



166 Plain Sermons. 

ceasing to maintain himself against the 
world. What wonder, then, that worldliness 
shonld dominate in some measnre his less 
fortunate brother, and even inject itself into 
his religious life. The importance of 
thoroughly Catholic training can never be 
sufficiently insisted upon. This training 
in its fullest and best sense means an 
education in which the intellectual and 
religious features are not divorced one from 
the other, but rather go hand in hand, so 
that the natural unity of education is 
preserved. Unhappily, even in the Church 
there have sprung up recently doctrinaires 
who have ingeniously suggested schemes of 
education whereby this natural unity would 
be disrupted. Among these persons were 
found some of unquestionable integrity and 
purity of motive, but (as a costly experience 
has proven) undoubtedly misguided. These 
schemes had an apparently economic value, 
which was more than counterpoised by a 
danger to souls. 

Another cause of the worldliness which 
we are now considering is a spirit of 
independence which expresses itself in 



Worldli?iess in Religion. 167 

insubordination to the authority of the 
Church. This spirit, mayhap, takes its rise 
from the exaggerated notion of liberty which 
fills the minds of so many around us. This 
independence betrays a lack of that sort of 
faith which creates in its possessor a correct 
estimate of the worth of membership in the 
Church, which makes us humbly and gladly 
obedient to the voice of our Mother, as heard 
in her precepts and counsels, and which 
stirs an ardor, even in the blood of age, in 
her defence. We hear from time to time 
protests against the amount of power 
invested in the hierarchy of the Church, 
and criticisms of its so-called abuse. "As 
the Father sent Me, " says Christ, u So I 
send you." (1) And how, Beloved, did the 
Father send His Christ? Hearken to the 
answer as it fell from the lips of Christ: "All 
power is given to Me in heaven and on 
earth." (2) Curiously enough, these souls 
who rebel against the seeming tyranny of 
the Church, submit themselves unreservedly 
to the tyranny of society, which exercises a 

1 Joan XX, 21. 

2 Matt. XXVIII, 18, 



168 Plairi Sermons. 

species of despotism over its members. 
One's individuality is by degrees modified, 
and as a consequence, distinctive personality 
vanishes before the march of the foibles of 
society. The duties of religion ofttimes 
conflict with what society demands, and the 
weak Catholic becomes restive under the 
law of the Church, which he looks upon as 
oppressive, and he straightway ignores it. 
The spirit of rebellion, perhaps, more than 
anything else, shows the evil effect of our 
contact 'with Protestantism, since the first 
&nd most powerful effort of Protestantism 
was directed against the authority of the 
Church, and a pronounced indifference to 
Church authority has always been a leading 
characteristic of its history. 

Were time to permit we could with profit 
study other causes of worldliness in reli- 
gion, such as love of material gain and 
human respect. Let it suffice to say that 
of these the former is a most powerful means 
of diverting man's attention from the 
spiritual to the material world. It mate- 
rializes him, so to speak, and renders his 
religious practice mechanical. It finally 



World lines s in Religion. 169 

dims his vision to all save mammon. 
There is hardly a more pitiable creature in 
the world than the so-called Catholic who 
is ruled by human respect. The species is 
rare, thanks to God, yet from time to time 
we meet an individual who believes in Jesus 
Christ and His Church and yet who is 
ashamed to confess them. This man would 
not dare to make any external sign to show 
his allegiance, he would not wear upon his 
bosom any sacramental, he would not discuss 
religious truth for fear of being (what the 
Blessed Paul esteemed a crowning glory) a 
fool for Christ's sake. 

Let us endeavor, beloved, to arrive at a 
correct notion of what " being a Catholic" 
really is. Fundamental in that concept 
must be the realization that by no species 
of accommodation can we reconcile religion 
with worldliness. True it is, we are in the 
world and of necessity mixed up with many 
worldly considerations, but this need in no 
wise impede or substantially injure our 
service of Christ and the Church. Our 
loyalty to the Church must be absolute and 
unconditional. Though we may without 



170 Plain Sermons. 

the sacrifice of principle, and consistently 
with devotion to the Church, criticise cer- 
tain lines of policy pursued, let us say by 
this or that pontiff, we may never adopt a 
similar attitude toward any doctrine or de- 
votional practice sanctioned by the Church's 
supreme authority. As Cardinal Newman 
says, "The Church does not allow her 
children to entertain any doubt of her 
teaching, and that simply for this reason, 
because they are Catholics only while they 
have faith, and faith is incompatible with 
doubt." (1) Hence there can be no trifling 
with that sacred gift. If God has blessed 
you with plenty or with social position, 
understand well that these things carry 
with them responsibilities, but they form 
no title to God's favor. Riches for the 
most part form an obstacle to spiritual 
progress. Our blessed Lord Himself assures 
us of the difficulty which besets the rich 
man in the matter of his salvation. "It is 
easier for a camel to pass through the eye 
of a needle than for the rich man to enter 

1 Newman's "Faith and Doubt" (Sermons to Mixed 
Congregations). 



Worldliness in Religion. 171 

into the kingdom of heaven . " ( 2 ) Of course 
Christ meant by the rich man the individual 
who is inordinately attached to his wealth, 
and has no consciousness of the fact that 
the possession of riches entails serious duties 
to others. So, then, no matter what your 
position or your wealth, know that in the 
sight of God you are no better than the 
beggar or the humblest member of society. 
Be convinced, furthermore, that these may 
be placed immeasurably above you by their 
fidelity to God's law. To regulate your 
religious practices by social differences is to 
reduce your personal religion to a worthless 
formality. Never allow human respect to 
dominate you. Let it be your proudest 
privilege to profess yourself a Catholic. 
You have been chosen from amongst mil- 
lions of humanity, who have never received 
the priceless inheritance of faith. You 
possess that gift, not by merit or desert, but 
by an ineffable grace of Jesus Christ. Live 
up, then, to your glorious vocation, and if 
your position in life is such that you are 
responsible for little ones, either as parents 

2 Matt. XIX, 24. 



172 Plain Sermons. 

or guardians, appreciate the fact that the 
highest and most important expression of 
that responsibility has to do with giving 
them a safe and sound religious training, 
which will ensure their future devotion and 
loyalty to the Church. 



CHRIST OUR TEACHER. 

11 Ego sum via Veritas et vita. M 

11 I am the way, the truth and the life. " (1) 

"The world," says the illustrious New- 
man, "was to have certain great intellectual 
teachers and no others . Homer and Aristotle , 
with the poets and philosophers who circle 
about them, were to be the school-masters of 
all generations. ' ' (2) This assertion, though 
perfectly true, from Newman's view point, 
has little, if any meaning for humanity, 
taken as a whole. The voices of those an- 
cient masters are heard with marvelous dis- 
tinctness, though the "glory that was 
Greece" has forever passed, yet it was re- 
served for one who was regarded neither as 
poet, or philosopher, to speak to the utter- 
most bounds of the earth, and to give to man 
an enduring lesson. He, above all others, is 
the School-master of all generations. The 
speculations of Greek philosophy and the 
various ethical systems which grew out of it, 

1 Joan XIV, 6. 

2 Historical Lectures (Athenian Schools). 

(173) 



174 Plain Se?'mons. 

had but little effect upon the minds and wills 
of its disciples. Since all conclusions were 
subject to the approval of the individual in- 
tellect. Not so, however, with the teaching 
of the world's great Master, Jesus Christ. 
He gave to the world a perfect system of 
doctrine and morality, and the greatest sanc- 
tion of His teachings was His own personal 
authority. He taught ' 'as one having power, 
and not as the Scribes and Pharisees." (1) 

At the time of Christ's advent, the human 
race was in a sorry plight. The thousand 
objects which polytheism offered as claim- 
ants of man's worship, had made religion 
an abominable extravagance. Vice was ideal- 
ized where culture had found an entrance, and 
its shameless consummation was common 
where ignorance prevailed. Sin had, conse- 
quently, wrought extensive ravages upon 
man's moral nature. 

There was need most manifest of some 
great teacher, who, by a stupendous act, 
would raise humanity to a condition conso- 
nant with man's natural dignity and ulti- 
mate destiny. Such a teacher, such an 

1 Matt. VII, 29. 



Christ Our Teacher, 175 

emancipator, the world has received in the 
person of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 
From a human point of view there was little 
to favor the notion that the mission of Jesus, 
would eventuate successfully. He came to 
revolutionize the existing order. The idea 
of God's unity, which He was to insist upon 
as the basic line, the very foundation of His 
system, was well-nigh universally obscured. 
The union of religion with morality had 
been disrupted, and this disruption had 
opened the way to all impurity among the 
nations. Humility, self-denial and charity 
were to be necessary characteristics of His 
followers, and of these, the first was regarded 
as a voluntary abandonment of self-respect; 
the second, as a species of drivel, save when 
exercised for country, and the third was 
hardly known. But Jesus Christ came teach- 
ing "as one having authority," and He 
taught as none had ever taught before; with 
an assurance that baffled His enemies, and 
a power which compelled their respect. The 
personalities of the world's great leaders of 
thought, and propagandists of religious and 
ethical systems, when contrasted with the 



176 Plain Sermons. 

personality of Jesus Christ, dwindle into 
insignificance, and their moral standards, as 
compared with His, are crude. 

The sublimity and sincerity of Jesus 
Christ place Him immeasurably distant from 
all the public teachers and leaders of men that 
the world knows of. The sublimity of Jesus 
Christ is not a quality that appears in 
sporadic flashes. It is ever palpable. Not 
for a moment does its bright luster diminish. 
"It is for this reason," says the incompar- 
able Lacordaire, "that notwithstanding the 
great treasury of literary masterpieces, the 
gospel remains a unique and inimitable 
book." (1) It is, however, by penetrating 
the veil of Christ's simplicity that we begin 
to behold His sublimity. "A new com- 
mandment I give unto you," says Jesus, 
"that you love one another as I have loved 
you." (2) This declaration does not, at 
first view, impress us as the expression of a 
sublime soul, so much as do the words which 
the poet puts into the mouth of the stoical 
old Roman. 

1 Conferences (Public Power of Jesus Christ). 

2 Joan XIII, 34. 



Christ Our Teacher, 177 

" Set honor in one eye, and death in the other, 

And I will look on both indifferently, 

For let gods so speed me, as I love 

The name of honor more than I fear death. " (1) 

Again, "The maid is not dead, but 
sleepeth," (2) seems almost weak as the 
manifestation of the consciousness of Divine 
power, when compared with the words of 
Caesar to the boatman, terrified and appalled 
at the storm. "What fearest thou ? Thou 
carriest Caesar." 

But when in the first instance we examine 
Christ's precept of charity, in its meaning 
upon His disciples and upon the nations that 
would be subjugated to His name; when we 
consider that declaration of Jesus Christ, in 
the light of the universal brotherhood which 
it was to effect — a brotherhood having its 
sole cause in religious doctrine; when, finally, 
we study the precept in the light of the 
example which Jesus Christ made its founda- 
tion, namely, that intense, most tender 
and yearning love for men, which filled His 
soul; ah! then we begin to perceive in some 
little measure the incomparably august 

1 Shakespeare (Julius Caesar). 

2 Matt. IX, 24. 



178 Plain Sermons, 

nature of His words through their veil of sim- 
plicity . ' ' She is not dead , but sleepeth . " ( 1 ) 
How utterly simple ! The Scriptures tell 
us that the bystanders laughed Him to scorn. 
But it is the expression of Divine power. 
As by laying our hand upon one who slumbers 
we may rouse him to a sentient condition, 
in like manner, the deepest of slumbers, 
profoundest of lethargies, death, yields im- 
mediately to the gentle touch of Jesus Christ, 
for to Him it is no more than the lightest of 
slumbers. 

What shall we say of His sincerity ? 
Sublime thoughts and expressions do not 
afford an absolute guarantee of either honesty 
or sincerity, but the sincerity of Jesus Christ 
is beyond all legitimate doubt, as is proven 
from His circumstances and methods as a 
public teacher. He did not possess the head- 
ship of a strong following nor did He rely 
upon the support of any earthly potentate. 
He sought not by prodigious acts to awe, or 
terrify those to whom He addressed himself, 
yet He claimed divinity and demanded the 
adoration that is due to God ; and further 

1 Joan XVII, 21. 



Christ Our Teacher. 179 

still, in establishing His position, He de- 
spised all human expedients. "Ego et Pater 
unum sumus. ' 'I and the Father are one/ ' 
says He. " 'Qui videt me, videt et Patrem," 
Who sees me, sees the Father." (1) There 
is not the remotest suggestion of diplomacy 
or policy, no sounding of opinion, no culti- 
vation of favor. Eminently self-sufficient, 
hence, unquestionably sincere, and a # s the 
testimony of two thousand years demon- 
strates, He was the properest of agents, the 
most admirably fitted for the fulfillment of a 
religious design of tremendous proportions, 
and the simple gospel narrative, setting forth 
the record of His life, has done more for the 
uplifting of men than all the sayings of 
philosophers, than all the exhortations of 
moralists. 

The mere inculcation of correct ethical 
principles will not guarantee success to a 
teacher or reformer of society. His doctrine 
must be re-inforced by good example. An 
astute hypocrite might succeed for awhile, 
but the denudation of his life would sound 
the death -knell of his success. The propa- 

1 Joan XIV, 9. 



180 Plain Sermons. 

gandist of a high norm of morality, whose 
personal life is a contradiction of his teaching 
is but half equipped. In Jesus Christ 
we find a most perfect agreement between 
what He taught and what He actually did. 
Before publicly insisting upon the practice of 
those virtues which must be found in every 
Christian life, He taught the same by years 
of good example, in an humble home at 
Nazareth. When He said: "I am the way, 
learn of me. n He meant to place His whole 
life before His hearers as a powerful object 
lesson. 

Though a general view of the life of our 
great Teacher is sufficient to elicit our praise 
and admiration, yet it is expedient to study 
in detail some few of the lessons which 
He has taught us, in order that our present 
consideration may have some definite and 
practical fruits. Our Blessed Savior was a 
perfect exemplar of every virtue, yet there 
are none so manifest in His life and teaching 
as humility, self-denial and charity. From 
the first moment of His imprisonment in the 
virginal womb of His mother until the last 
throe of agony upon Golgotha's bloody sum- 



Christ Our Teacher. 18i 

mit, the life of Jesus was a state of most abject 
humility. The very notion of the Incarna- 
tion imports a humiliation that is utterly 
beyond our grasp. The idea that God's 
Eternal Son, equal to the Father in power, 
like to Him, God, condescended to empty 
Himself of His majesty, to sacrifice the cir- 
cumstances of His glory, in exchange for 
the wretched rags of human nature, simply 
baffles the human intellect. When declaring 
Himself the model, the exemplar, for His 
disciples to follow, He chose to dignify His 
humility as a most especial characteristic. 
44 Learn of me, for I am meek and humble 
of heart. n (1) In order the better to make 
clear His disregard, nay, more, His contempt 
for the vanities of the human mind and 
heart, He chose twelve men from the lowest 
stratum of society for His brethren and with 
these humble instruments He has established 
His universal empire of souls. He kept the 
company of the neglected and the sinful, 
yea, He was called the friend of sinners. 
What self-abasement, nay, more, what 
degradation of a Divine personality! His 

1 Matt. XI, 29. 



182 Plain Sermons. 

humility is so closely bound up with the 
practice of self-denial, that it is impossible 
to view these two virtues apart in Christ's 
blessed life. ' 'Si quis vult post me venire, 
abneget senetipsum tollat crucem suam et 
sequatur me." "If anyone will come after 
me let him deny himself, take up his cross 
and follow me." (1) Behold the shivering 
babe of Bethlehem, ushered into the world 
amidst circumstances of poverty and suffer- 
ing. His young life was consistent with its 
abject beginning, and when the veil that 
hides His life at Nazareth from our view is 
withdrawn, again His self-denial and morti- 
fication impress us most palpably. Consider 
for a moment His fasting in the desert, and 
harken to that pathetic plaint, wherein He 
declares, that less fortunate than the birds 
of the air, and the foxes, He has nowhere 
to rest. What words shall describe the 
mortification of the heart, the endurance of 
insult and injury, the meek acceptance of 
contumely, ceaseless misrepresentation and 
persecution, terminating in the indescribable 
horrors of His passion and death? "The 

1 Matt. XVI, 24. 



Christ Our Teacher. 183 

cross, and the cross always His standard, 
during His life, at its close and after His 
death." * * * " Bleeding and ghastly, 
lifted up in nakedness, stretched out in 
dislocation, He wishes to keep Himself before 
the eyes of saints and sinners alike until 
the end of time." (1) 

The charity of Jesus Christ is the motive 
of all His humiliation and His mortification. 
Nay, more, it was the motive of His coming, 
His death and even His resurrection. His 
was a love that brought Him to our poor 
level, from the height of Infinite majesty, a 
love which made Him one of us. It was a 
charity that rendered Him amenable to 
human friendship. " Behold how He loved 
him," (2) whispers the multitudes, as 
Jesus, groaning with a heartrending grief, 
approached the tomb of His friend, Lazarus. 
It was a charity that made Him the lover of 
little ones. 'Suffer the little children and 
forbid them not to come unto me." (3) It 
was a charity that elicited pity for the widow 

1 Newman's Serm. to Mixed Cong. (Mystery of Di- 
vine Condescension). 

2 Joan XI, 36. 

3 Matt. XIX, 14. 



184 Plain Sermons. 

and orphan; that made the lame to walk, 
the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the very 
dead to rise ; a charity which exhausted, (if 
I may daresay it) Divine goodness, since it 
culminated in Jesus Christ giving all that 
He could, in bestowing upon us His own 
sweet Self. His charity was without discrim- 
ination, most tender, but absolutely pure. 
At the invitation of Simon, the Pharisee, the 
Savior is seated at the latter' s table partaking 
of his hospitality, and during the progress of 
the feast a woman appears upon the thresh- 
old. She is wildly beautiful. Her cheek is 
paler than alabaster, and her lustrous tresses 
are disheveled. A thousand adulteries and 
fornications weigh ponderously upon her 
wretched soul. She trembles in the presence 
of God's immaculate purity. She is about 
to turn and flee, but the eye of Divine love 
holds her captive, and hesitating but an in- 
stant, she rushes in, regardless of surround- 
ings, and throws herself at the feet of Jesus. 
How black her sins must show at those white 
feet ! Her heart is bursting with love and 
contrition ; with scalding tears and spikenard, 
she bathes those feet, and kisses them a 



Christ Our Teacher. 185 

thousand times, and wipes them with her 
tresses, and then, with upturned face, she 
gazes unto the countenance of Jesus with a 
mute, but most eloquent appeal for mercy. 
O, the tender, anxious love for sinners, 
which manifests itself in the sentence of 
forgiveness. His boundless regard for the 
souls of men had its clear echo in her 
heart and hence, her pardon. "Many sins 
are forgiven her because she has loved 
much. n (l) 

11 Wherefore, this I say: — 
Her sins — her many sins — are wiped away, 
Even as from these my feet her tears were wiped, 
For she loved much ! But where forgiveness 
Is little, love is little 

Go in peace ! Thy sins 
Are all forgiven. " (2) 

What an ineffably sublime climax did the 
charity of Jesus reach, when amidst the 
agonies of His crucifixion, He breathed forth 
that most touching appeal in behalf of His 
very murderers: ' ' Father, forgive them, for 
they know not what they do. n (3) 

1 Luke VII, 47. 

2 Edwin Arnold, The Light of the World. 

3 Luke XXIII, 34. 



186 Plain Sermons. 

Strange and lamentable the fact that pas- 
sionate frenzy and indifference have blinded 
men, so as to render their vision insensible 
to the clear evidences of the goodness and 
greatness of Jesus Christ, and His proper 
relations with the souls of men. Stranger 
still, and perhaps more to be deplored the 
fact, that even amongst those who have in 
infancy been signed by the indelible charac- 
ter, whereby men become partakers of His 
heritage, and children of the household of His 
Father, many are found. whom His sublimity 
has ceased to inspire, and whose hearts are 
no longer amenable to the warming influ- 
ence of His love. 

Let us look into our souls with a view to 
finding out to what extent we have reproduced 
our Divine exemplar, more particularly with 
regard to humility, self-denial and charity. 
Are we not puffed up with vain conceits, 
rather than meek and humble of heart? It is 
not a matter of serious difficulty for us to 
endure without feelings of resentment, the 
slightest wound inflicted upon our vanity 
and self-love? Nay, more, do we not go so 
far as to encourage our neighbor, by positive 



Christ Our Teacher. 187 

acts, to entertain a higher estimation of us 
than is meet? And is not our motive thus 
in acting the merest self-complacency? It 
is hardly extravagant to say that the trend 
of many so-called Christian lives is in the 
direction of exaggerating before the eye of 
the world, their real or imagined excellence. 
What shall we say of self-denial? It is 
frequently an unknown quantity in the lives 
of those who call themselves followers of the 
Crucified. Some one has said that our lux- 
uries are exponents of our civilization. If we 
look about us, we find that this declaration 
has great support. Art and science are 
pressed into service for the purpose of aug- 
menting our comfort more than for any 
other end. Immortification and sensuality 
are rife on every side. How many Christians 
look upon slight privations in the light of 
real misfortunes? How many, again, regard 
the performance of ordinary religious duties 
with repugnance? Their name is legion. 
As an effect of all this, our moral energies 
suffer a sort of paralysis, and we bear not 
even a slight resemblance to Him, who calls 
upon us to regard Him as our pattern and 



188 Plain Sermons. 

example . u I am the way . Learn of me . " ( 1 ) 
Do we meet with better results when we 
study our spiritual condition regarding 
charity? What sort of love have we for 
Jesus Christ? Are our hearts sufficiently 
attached to Him to keep us in the path of His 
commandments? When we have to choose 
between Christ and the world, between the 
love we owe Him and sin, between treason 
to Him, and resistance to temptation, how 
do we elect? Oh, who could pen the infidel- 
ities to the Heart of Jesus Christ on the part 
of His own? Who could write those annals, 
even though he had a thousand years for the 
performance of his task? There is another 
element in that love which is our duty, and 
this other concerns itself with the love for 
the neighbor. u By this shall all men know 
that you are my disciples if you have love 
for one another." (2) This fraternal char- 
ity is, then, the special mark whereby the 
world shall recognize the disciples of Christ, 
and our failings against it are beyond count. 
In a thousand ways we behold Christians 

1 Joan XIV, 6. 

2 Joan XIII, 35. 



Christ 0?ir Teacher. 189 

manifesting coldness, contempt and even 
hatred toward those whom they are com- 
manded to love, as they love themselves. 
We are indifferent regarding the care we 
should take of the neighbor's good name, 
and nearly insensible to his necessities, both 
spiritual and temporal, and yet by Christ's 
precept of love we are our brothers' keepers. 
Where is my personal Christianity, if I am 
devoid of that note whereby men know the 
Lord's followers? Where is my love for 
Christ if I possess no real charity for my 
neighbors? The Inspired Word brands 
that man as a liar who declares he loves 
God, when, as a matter of fact, he hates his 
neighbor. (1) The more ardent, the more 
self-sacrificing, the more sympathetic my 
love for my neighbor, and the more practical 
my efforts to put that love into action, the 
more clearly do I show my real love for 
Jesus; for the love of Him is the sole motive 
and explanation of my fraternal charity. 

O Jesus, do Thou make us humble, mor- 
tified and loving. Teach us the vanity of 
all save Thee — teach us the value of humil- 

1 Ep. Joan V, 20, 



190 Plain Sermons. 

iation, nay, more, even degradation for Thy 
sweet sake. Help us crucify our flesh and 
its lusts, and when its dread power is about 
to overcome our weak resistance, O teach 
us, Thou, to cry out with Peter sinking in 
the waves, "Lord, save us, we perish." (1) 
Above all, sweet Lord, teach us to love. 
Set our poor cold hearts aflame for Thee 
and those whom Thou dost love. Give us 
some little taste of that great love with 
which, in its fullness, we hope to burn for- 
ever. 

1 Matt. VIII, 25. 



SALVATION. 

4 * What skall it profit a man if he gain the whole world 
and suffer the loss of his soul?" (1) 

When the Almighty pronounced the 
word which called man forth from nothing 
into being, constituting him the chiefest of 
earthly creatures, it was not solely a creative 
act. God did not simply make man and 
then turn him adrift, to do as he might list 
and to choose whatever end he might pro- 
pose to himself. The word which made 
man a reality, determined his functions and 
destined him for a particular end. The 
Divine Persons of the Blessed Trinity were, 
(so to speak), in solemn council assembled, 
and the result of their deliberations is found 
in these words of Holy Writ: "Faciamus 
hominen secundum imaginem et similitu- 
dinem nostram," "Let us make man 
according to our image and likeness. n (2) 
That is, (as we may paraphrase the text), 



1 Mark VIII, 36. 

2 Gen. I, 26. 



(191) 



192 Plain Sermons. 

"Let us make a creature that shall possess 
an immortal spirit, which shall be endowed 
with intelligence and freedom." And the 
functions of that creature were determined 
with due regard to his exalted gifts, and the 
end appointed for him was worthy of a 
creature upon whom is stamped the image 
and likeness of the Triune God. 

We learn from the pages of the little 
catechism, that man was created to know, 
love and serve God in this life, and to be 
happy with Him forever in heaven. It is 
perfectly clear from Holy Writ that the 
happiness celestial, for which man is des- 
tined, is nothing else than the perfection of 
that knowledge, love and service which 
make up our duty toward God here below. 
Our knowledge of God here is most imper- 
fect. Now, we know Him, as says the 
Apostle, "Through a glass and in a dark 
manner, " (1) but after the days of our pil- 
grimage it will be ours to "Know Him as 
He is," to see Him "face to face." (2) Now 
we perceive Hini through symbols, through 

1 Cor. XIII, 12. 

2 Ibid. 



^ 



Salvation. 193 

His creatures, and most especially through 
His revelations, but when all figures shall 
have passed away, and faith shall have 
blossomed into vision, then shall burst upon 
our souls the full blaze of His splendor, and 
we shall behold Him surrounded by the 
glory of His Infinite majesty. All inquiry 
and speculation shall be swallowed up in the 
fruition of most perfect and most abundant 
knowledge. 

As our knowledge of God is imperfect 
here upon earth, likewise is our love. The 
love of God which is without flaw is the 
love founded upon a perfect sense of His 
amiability, and such a love is only found in 
the souls of the blessed in heaven. A most 
intense and ardent love, following upon a 
clear appreciation of God, will possess the 
soul forever. We shall be set on fire by the 
flames of His eternal charity, we shall be 
consumed with love . And with the realization 
that God is most holy, most just, most mer- 
ciful, most lovable, — in a word, absolutely 
perfect,— we will rest in Him forever, and 
our service shall consist in eternally singing 
His praises. This, then, is our end, to be 



194 Plain Sermons. 

associated with those blessed spirits that 
group themselves about the throne of God's 
majesty in ecstatic adoration, and chant for- 
ever hosannas and alleluias. 

Beloved, the achievement of this end, 
however, is our personal work. That is to 
say, the Almighty has made us free, and 
hence, responsible, and has decreed that the 
chief exercise of our responsibility should 
be the working out of our salvation. He 
has given us a law as a lamp to our feet, 
and has promised the help necessary to 
overcome the difficulties we may encounter 
in achieving our glorious end, but in His 
wisdom He has determined that the work of 
salvation shall be a personal labor in the 
case of every member of the human family 
that has reached discretion's years. This 
labor may vary in detail with different indi- 
viduals, but essentially it is the same for 
all. No one can save my soul, nor can I 
save the soul of another. Others may offer 
up the incense of prayer in my behalf, they 
may lead lives of sacrifice for my spiritual 
welfare, nay, more, others may pour out 
their blood upon the altar of fraternal 



Salvation. 195 

charity for me, and all these taken together 
would be powerless to effect my salvation, 
unless I co-operated and labored in my own 
interest. It is not the offering of food to a 
famishing man that saves his life, but rather 
the actual consumption of that food on the 
part of the sufferer, who would surely die of 
hunger, even though he were surrounded 
•by the most nutritious viands, if in his 
madness he refused to touch them. The 
wisdom of God demands that the work of 
salvation should be of an unquestionably 
personal character. This determination on 
the part of the Almighty is an expression 
of regard for the God-like characteristic of 
rational freedom with which, out of his 
Infinite generosity, He has endowed us. 
He could not thus have made me and then 
have left me to be the sport of my own 
whims. All things else He has created that, 
by the fulfillment of some special function, 
they may reach a certain end. He has 
created the sun to give light and warmth 
the earth that it might germinate. Surely, 
then, since He has made man for the des- 
tiny which we have just rehearsed, and 



196 Plain Sermons. 

since He has made him so wonderfully capa- 
ble, it follows that man's chief function is 
the personal working out of the Divine Will 
in his regard, and that is, laboring in the 
cause of his salvation. If I fail so to do, 
then I am an incumbrance in creation. I 
am positively a nuisance and I become an 
efficient cause of discord in creation's won- 
drous harmony. 

The next consideration which must occupy 
our attention is that of the extreme impor- 
tance of the work of our salvation. Our 
Blessed Savior asks the question: "What 
shall it profit a man if he gain the whole 
world and suffer the loss of his soul?" So 
that the gratification of every conceivable 
desire here upon earth, and the possession 
of all things that could in any manner con- 
duce to earthly satisfaction, would weigh 
absolutely naught against the eternal per- 
dition of a soul, nay, they would appear 
utterly insignificant in the light of such a 
woeful price. We are like swift winged 
birds, our passage is rapid through life, and 
in a few little days we reach eternity. Man 
shall go into the home of eternity. Here 



Salvation. 197 

we have no rest, no abiding place, eternity 
is our goal, — eternity, whether of unspeak- 
able bliss or unutterable woe. Our years 
chase each other with astounding rapidity, 
and our pilgrimage is without the faintest 
suggestion of perfect felicity. O, the blind- 
ness of men's minds, that they should so 
generally place their end in earthly things. 
Here we have an individual who fancies 
that life will reveal its most desirable treas- 
ures to him in the prosecution of a political 
career. He exercises himself most labo- 
riously to achieve the object of his ambition, 
and at length (let us suppose) he succeeds. 
He is momentarily delighted, but, alas, all 
too soon this intoxication vanishes. He 
shortly discovers that his satisfaction is in 
nowise commensurate with his anticipations. 
After a brief space he is dispossessed. Per- 
haps his constituents fall from him, and he 
topples over and falls with a crash to the 
common level. The woman who has given 
her best energies to the attainment of social 
success, who mayhap, has succeeded for a 
time, finds out the emptiness of it all when, 
gazing into her mirror, she beholds that the 



198 Plain Sermons, 

lustre and color have departed from lier 
tresses and the rose from her cheek, and is 
thus confronted with the palpable reasons 
why her star has set. Others there are who 
fancy that in the gratification of their sen- 
suous proclivities they will find the happi- 
ness which the human heart so constantly 
yearns for. But, alas, the gall and bitter- 
ness of a man's degradation, when upon his 
mind is forced the appalling conviction, that 
he has fed upon husks of swine, and so 
habituated has he become to them that he 
can desire nothing better. "For they have 
said, reasoning with themselves, but not 
right: Come, therefore, and let us enjoy 
the good things that are present, and 
let us speedily use the creatures as in 
youth." " These things they thought and 
were deceived, for their own malice blinded 
them." (1) Whether our idea of happiness 
is centered in the gratification of what the 
world would regard as a respectable ambi- 
tion, or in succumbing to the allurements 
of sensuality, the mistake is alike obvious, 
for death is the end of all such seeming joys 

1 Wisdom II, 6, 21. 



Salvation. 199 

and consolations, and as the icy fingers of 
this monster close about our throats, we 
come face to face with the dreadful problem 
of our eternity. And even those who fancy 
that in the midst of earthly gratifications 
they obtain a sufficiency of happiness, 
simply force upon their intelligence the 
grossest self-deception. For, though trying 
to forget God and the work of their salvation, 
their souls wander toward eternity as to a 
home-land, their spirits run beyond time 
and space, beyond planets and suns and far- 
off comets, yearning, (not, perhaps, explic- 
itly,) to find repose and peace in the great 
immensity beyond. 

What is the value of eternal salvation? 
4 'This may be estimated from two principles, 
namely, the teaching and example of those 
whose judgment is unimpeachable, and by 
its intrinsic nature and importance. First, 
how have the wise and good and prudent 
valued it? Ask St. Paul and the martyrs of 
Holy Church how they valued it. They will 
all reply that the tribulations of this life 
could not compare with their weight of 



200 Plai?i Sermons. 

glory. (1) Ask of the confessors and vir- 
gins, and with one voice they will reply that 
their lives of labor, of penance, of poverty, 
sacrifice and detachment are as nothing 
when compared with eternal salvation." (2) 
When we consider but momentarily that the 
Almighty sent His only Son upon earth to 
live a life of poverty, suffering and degrada- 
tion, and, finally, sacrificed Him to a death 
of ignominy for our salvation, and when we 
reflect upon the sacraments and the great 
Mystic Sacrifice, all of which have in view 
the same end, then our minds must be deeply 
convinced of the tremendous importance of 
the work of achieving our glorious destiny. 
As to its intrinsic worth, it suflices to say 
that God's revelation is filled with references 
to the incomparable joys of heaven. St. 
Paul assures us that the nature of that hap- 
piness which God bestows upon the blessed 
above, is such as to transcend all the expe- 
rience of man's ideas and conceptions. Our 
daily experience amid the vexations, the 
sorrows and sufferings of life, is assuredly 

1 2 Cor. IV, 17. 

2 Clare, S. J., Spiritual Life, (Importance of Salva- 
tion). 



Salvation. 201 

enough to convince us that an abode of per- 
fect happiness, wherefrom is excluded the 
very possibility of pain, has a wondrous 
intrinsic value, and that it is worth our 
supremest efforts to arrive at its possession. 
What madness, then, there is in so living 
here as to endanger its attainment, by 
running the risk of unending wretchedness. 
Do you imagine that any material gain 
which you may obtain in life will redound 
to your benefit in the world to come? Or, 
do you fancy that your labors performed 
here with such perfect diligence to obtain 
the favor of men, or their applause, or a 
little of the world's ease, will aid the cause 
of your salvation? The rich man of whom 
the Scriptures speak had filled his barns, 
and had procured for himself every comfort 
that the earth could afford, and said unto 
himself: "Soul, thou hast much goods laid 
up for many years, take thy rest, eat, drink, 
make good cheer," (1) and that night as 
he reclined upon his couch of down, nestling 
there to enjoy sweet slumbers and dream, 
mayhap, of his gold and wondrous stores, 

1 Luke XII, 19. 



202 Plain Sermons. 

he was startled, and the blood froze in his 
veins as he heard the awfnl summons:" 
"Fool, this night do they require thy soul 
of thee." (1) Come before the dread tribu- 
nal of eternal justice and render an account 
of thy stewardship. Speak not of thy 
labors to amass the precious things of earth, 
speak not of thy positions of honor or pres- 
tige among thy fellows, but declare with 
what fidelity thou hast kept the law of the 
most high. Fool, thou hast placed thy 
happiness in perishable goods. Thou hast 
neglected to store up riches in heaven, 
"where no thief approacheth nor moth cor- 
rupteth,'' (2) and so shall thy labors damn 
thee. Hearken to the voice of thy Judge: 
"What doth it profit a man if he gain the 
whole world and suffer the loss of his own 
soul?" And yet, beloved, we find among 
us men who declare that they have but 
little, if any, time to devote to the work of 
saving their souls, no time to secure a 
happy eternity! The Supreme Arbiter of 
life and death has placed us here for the 

1 Ibid 20. 

2 Luke XII, 33. 



Salvation. 203 

sole purpose of working out our salvation 
with fear and trembling, and yet we who 
are the creatures of His hands, absolutely 
dependent upon Him for the very air we 
breathe, declare that we have no time for 
His service. 

Alas, for us, if it will be our dreadful lot 
to look back upon a series of opportunities 
wasted and ignored. Woe to us if, when the 
hand of death is upon us, we shall be 
possessed of a keen consciousness of the 
dread meaning of those little words, "too 
late." Had we two souls to save we might, 
perchance, risk the loss of one and save the 
other. Such, however, is not the case, 
hence, if my soul goes down to the abysmal 
depths of hell, all is irrevocably lost and I 
am irreparably ruined. It is in the light of 
this dreadful truth that we begin to see and 
understand the wisdom of the saints as seen 
in their patience and long-suffering, their 
humility, self-abnegation, nay, crucifixion 
of self, their fear of God's justice, their 
sense of their own un worthiness, and their 
supplications for mercy. How well they 
knew how far removed from all the other 



204 Plain Sermons, 

concerns of life is the business of salvation, 
and in the light of that knowledge, how 
readily did they strip themselves of the 
world's goods. What magnificent contempt 
did they manifest for the w r orld with all its 
honors, its pleasures and allurements. In 
a word, how intimately and with what pene- 
tration did they understand those words of 
the Master: "What doth it profit a man if 
he gain the whole world and suffer the loss 
of his soul?" 

The work of saving our souls is, finally, 
the only work we have to do in life. 
Though our duties to society and to our- 
selves and families demand that we interest 
ourselves in earthy affairs, and labor in the 
business of the world, yet little depends 
upon our success. I may be a dismal failure 
at securing a livelihood, I may be a fool in 
the eyes of my fellowmen, I may be the 
victim of a hundred different sorts of mis- 
fortune, yet all this can not injure my 
standing, one jot or tittle, in the eye of 
God. If my soul is straight before the All 
Seeing Judge, then my foolishness and mis- 
fortune will be buried in the ocean of eternal 



Salvation. 205 

oblivion, but if I am a failure in the matter 
of working out my salvation, if in that 
affair I meet with a fatal accident, then I 
am forever lost. Logically, then, we con- 
clude that whatever we do in this life, either 
directly or at least indirectly, must conduce 
to our salvation, otherwise it is unworthy 
and serves but to draw us from the achieve- 
ment of our proper end. 

Would to God that we might be pene- 
trated with the awful moment of the theme 
we are now considering. Would that we 
might seriously enter into the solitude of 
our hearts and endeavor to produce in our 
souls deep, earnest and abiding convictions 
as to the necessity of being up and doing in 
the matter of salvation. Beware of dela}M 
Who has the guarantee of a month, a 
week, a day, nay, even an hour? How 
many are in hell at this moment who placed 
their hopes in the fond dream of a future 
repentance? Look down into the abyss and 
fancy, if you can, the shrieks of despair, 
the howling of impotent rage that emanate 
from that awful depth, and know that, prom- 
inent among the unutterable agonies which 



206 Plain Sermons. 

oppress those wretched souls, is the memory 
of the fact that they refused to hear the 
voice of Divine Wisdom calling them trom 
the path of iniquity to work in the cause of 
their salvation. O, the memory of graces 
despised, the broken law, the voice of con- 
science stifled, religion neglected and de- 
spised, God forever lost. May the God of 
mercy arouse and enlighten us if, perhaps, 
we have slept, and fill us with the fear of 
His judgments. May He make us realize 
His design in placing us here, and lead us 
as little ones in the observance of His law, 
making us to see the truth of His word. 
"There is nothing better than the fear of 
God, and there is nothing sweeter than to 
have regard to the commandments of the 
Lord." "It is a great glory to follow the 
Lord, for length of days shall be received 
J from Him." 

(Eccles. XXXIII, 37, 38.) 



MORTAL SIN. 

"Amen, amen, I say unto you, that whosoever com- 
mitteth sin is the servant of sin." St. John VIII, 33. 

We have seen in our reflections on the 
end of man, that by the exercise of his ra- 
tional freedom, assisted by the grace of God, 
he is enabled to arrive at eternal conpanion- 
ship with God. We come now to the con- 
sideration of the sole obstacle in the way of 
man's achieving his glorious destiny: An 
obstacle which obscures his spiritual vision, 
which causes him to prostitute the freedom 
of his will; an obstacle which may finally 
cut him off forever from God and consign 
him to eternal perdition. The name of this 
obstacle is mortal sin, the parent and origin 
of all that the world looks upon as evil; the 
only thing in fine, worthy the name of evil. 

Go into the wards of a hospital and study 
some of the wretchedness that confronts you 
there. Look at that miserable creature who 
is the victim of a deathly fever. He is but 
a vestige of his former self. Two ruddy 
spots illuminate the ghastly pallor of his 

(207) 



208 Plain Sermons. 

countenance, and indicate the fire that rages 
in his veins. Note well his wasted limbs 
and hark to the short, rapid and painful res- 
piration. The fingers of death are rapidly 
closing about his throat. What does it all 
mean? Fructus peccati ; it is the fruit of sin. 
Look again, at that other sufferer — the vic- 
tim of some dreadful accident. Note the 
crushed head, the broken limb, the ruby 
tide with which flows away his life. List to 
his shrieks and agonizing cries. Fructus 
peccati\ it is the fruit of sin. Look again, at 
those human beings bereft of the use of 
their rational faculties, confined by bars of 
iron; this one a drivelling idiot — this other 
wild with the frenzy of madness, and this 
other worse than childish in his foolishness. 
What means this horrible picture? Fructus 
peccati; it is the fruit of sin. Go in spirit 
into the prisons of the world, and consider 
the plight of those poor wretches bereft of 
honor, reputation, society and liberty. Con- 
sider the conditions of degradation, deprav- 
ity, misery, poverty, and suffering of every 
sort under which so many of those who were 
made to the image of God, actually exist. 



Mortal Sin. 209 

Consider but for a moment the injustice, op- 
pression, and bloodshed that have gone to 
form so large a portion of the world's his- 
tory. Beloved, it all spells mortal sin. 
Not only is mortal sin the parent and origin 
of all that the world esteems as evil, but it 
alone is worthy the name of evil, for sin 
alone can deprive me of essential good. All 
other evils are of a transitory nature, they 
are but ephemeral, nay, more, they may be 
turned to my spiritual advantage, but sin 
can achieve an eternal effect by depriving 
me forever of my God. 

All that I have said, Beloved, is directly 
and unmistakably set forth in God's revela- 
tion. The original blessedness of man as 
he came from the creative hand, precluded 
suffering of whatever sort. God had raised 
man in Adam from u the dust of his unas- 
sisted frail humanity" to set him in a place 
of eminent honor. He had made him al- 
most the equal of those blessed spirits the 
angels, in respect to light, self-control and 
immortality, and from that blessed estate he 
was precipitated by sin. Beloved, have you 
■ ever seriously considered the fact that one 



210 Plain Sermons. 

single mortal sin revolutionized the plans of 
God and converted this world from a para- 
dise of pleasure to a valley of tears? Have 
you ever tried to study the mind of God in 
respect to sin, from the fact that because of 
sin the Almighty cried out that He repented 
of having made man, and straightway de- 
stroyed him from the face of the earth, sav- 
ing only that little remnant of humanity 
which was preserved in the Ark of Noe? 
Again and again are we struck with the 
harrowing details of dread manifestations of 
divine wrath because of sin — the pouring 
out of the phials of retribution upon cities 
and peoples — even the surrendering of his 
own chosen nation to degradation and bond- 
age. But the most overwhelming evidence 
in the temporal order of God's abomination 
and hatred of sin, lies in the fact, that He 
sacrificed the adorable object of His love, 
His own Divine Son — to the death of a crim- 
inal, in order that fitting propitiation might 
be made to His own outraged majesty. 

If the mind sickens at the contemplation 
of the temporal punishments which sin has 
occasioned, what shall we say of the effects 



Mortal Sin. 211 

of a serious consideration of its eternal pun- 
ishment. Never ending separation from 
the source of all joy and happiness; ever- 
lasting endurance of unspeakable torments. 
So odious, so loathesome, then, is sin in the 
eye of God, that though He has made us to 
His image and likeness; though He has 
destined us for an eternity of bliss in His 
blessed company; though He loves us with 
an immeasurable love; nevertheless, He is 
willing to cast us from Himself forever, to 
plunge us into the depths of eternal despair, 
to afflict us with excruciating agonies which 
will know no term, if by sin the original 
beauty of our souls is disfigured. Ah, Be- 
loved, a keen insight into this dread truth 
should so control our spiritual life, that we 
would rather a thousand times die than that 
sin should pollute the sanctuaries of our 
souls . Alas , however, the blindness of men ' s 
minds, and the hardness of their hearts are 
such, that millions live in the supremest in- 
difference to this tremendous fact. 

Let us study mortal sin in some detail. 
Let us draw near this horrible monster and 
examine it's lineaments in order to be pene- 



212 Plain Sermons. 

trated with the thought of it's deformity. 
The catechism tells us that mortal siu is a 
grievous offence against the law of God; an 
offence, therefore, not of a trivial character 
but one which is a striking infringement of 
God's legislation, a great wrong in very 
truth, and not a mere peccadillo, if, indeed, 
the slighest sin may so be called. An of- 
fense mind you, not an accidental breaking 
of the law. An act in the philosophical 
sense human, that is to say, one which 
brings into play the intellect and will; hence, 
an act for which the agent is responsible. 
It is an act to which the mind has so far 
adverted as to comprehend it's disorder. It 
is an act, finally, into which the will flows 
by exercising a perfect consent. It is 
perfectly clear that the omission of a 
grave duty may constitute sin as well as a 
positive act, and it is expedient to observe 
that an interior act may render us guilty of 
mortal sin even though it be unaccompanied 
by any external expression. " Whatsoever 
shall look on a woman to lust after her, 
hath already committed adultery with her 



Mortal Sin. 213 

in his heart." (1) The malice of mortal sin 
presents three aspects. It is first and be- 
fore all else an act of rebellion against di- 
vine authority. u Vile as I am, soul and 
body, by sin I put myself on an equality 
with God; as though I were as good as He. 
I refuse to accept a position of subjection 
and inferiority. It is so with every rebel 
and his liege-lord; he is always a leveller 
and an upstart. When we commit mortal 
sin, we make self the centre around which 
God and everything else is to revolve; our 
will is to rule, and God's is to be ruled. 
This is surely the worst part of sin; the 
personal opposition of the creature to the 
creator, of will to will; of our self-love to 
the love of God; the objective harm, which 
is the matter of prohibition, is a little evil 
compared with this. (2) Every mortal 
sin is a clear and unmistakable repetition of 
Satan's u Non serviam" "I will not serve." 
Though the human being does not sin in 
the full blaze of light which illuminated the 
angelic minds, even at the moment of their 

1 Matt. V, 28. 

2 Tyrrell, S. J. Hard Sayings ("Sin Judged by 
Reason"). 



214 Plain Sermons, 

perfidy, nevertheless, his act is essentially 
the same as was theirs, since it is a direct 
attack upon God's power and a direct insult 
to His majesty. 

The second aspect of the malice of mortal 
sin deals with its ingratitude. The Al- 
mighty does not stand in relation to me, as 
my King, the Supreme Arbiter of life and 
death only, but He also occupies in my re- 
gard, the relation of Creator, Preserver and 
Father. He did not need me as a comple- 
ment of His glory, yet out of His benefi- 
cence He drew me forth from nothing. 
Every blessing, whether of the spiritual or 
the temporal order which I have received, 
has come from His gracious endowment. 
He had loved me with a love that knows no 
human expression. Though His hatred of 
sin, compelled Him, if I may dare so to 
speak, to sacrifice His Christ to degradation 
and death, yet that sacrifice was made in or- 
der that He might gather His poor wander- 
ing, children once again to Himself, and 
give them opportunity of regaining His 
favor and of repairing their shattered spir- 
itual fortunes. In view of all this, who will 



Mortal Sin. . 215 

sound the depths of ingratitude which one 
mortal sin contains? And what shall I say 
of the countless mortal sins that blacken the 
souls of so many who call themselves Chris- 
tians. If this monstrous ingratitude must 
be predicated of my first mortal sin, it has 
been deepened and augmented by every suc- 
ceeding offence. God might have cut me 
off in the midst of my iniquity; He might 
have sent his angel to destroy me; He 
might have denied me all further grace. 
What, in fact, has he done? He has over- 
whelmed me with forgiveness and generos- 
ity. He has followed me in my degrada- 
tion and has lifted me from the mire of my 
filthiness, and has restored me to righteous- 
ness. Notwithstanding this abasement and 
condescension on the part of God, I have 
continued to cast aside His grace and to 
trample His law. Who shall adequately 
describe the sinner's ingratitude? 

The third aspect of the malice of mortal 
sin is this that mortal sin is an act of spir- 
itual suicide. It is the deliberate extinc- 
tion of the soul's life, by a turning away 
from God, and the placing of one's choice in 



216 Plain Sermons. 

creatures. It is a clearly expressed choice 
of wrong rather than right, a preference for 
eternal death over eternal life. The sinner 
says, "I hate God, I love that which He 
loathes and holds in absolute odium, and I 
prefer never ending separation from Him , and 
everlasting misery, to his eternal companion- 
ship in the midst of beatitude." "What 
madness then is mortal sin! For a mo- 
ment's gratification, for the merest bagatelle, 
I am willing to sacrifice the only perma- 
nent happiness to which I can attain." 

A great mystery which confronts us when 
meditating upon sin, is the fact that it is so 
very common, common even among those 
who know by faith its enormity. There is 
no phenomenon more familar to us than 
mortal sin; and in many of its forms the 
world looks upon it as a sort of necessary 
evil. Men joke about one another's iniqui- 
ties, as though they were merely entertain- 
ing trivialities. The public conscience, even 
in Christian communities, is not aroused by 
sin, save when it expresses itself in murder, 
or some other particularly shocking injus- 
tice. "The earth is infected by the inhabi- 



Mortal Sin. 217 

tants thereof, because they have transgressed 
the laws * * * therefore, shall a curse de- 
vour the earth?" (1) These words of the 
sad-souled Isaias have far more application 
in our midst than they had amid the circum- 
stances which called them forth. Is it not 
true that many of us settle ourselves cozily 
into a sort of conviction, that after all, our 

sins are rather manifestations of human 

* 

weakness than of malice? The logical re- 
sult of all this, Beloved, is, that thousands 
of Christians drink in sin like water. 
u There are times when we think that if 
there were no God, no future life, no restric- 
tions and prohibitions, life would be aimless, 
indeed, inexplicable, unmeaning, yet, for it's 
brief span, so much easier, more painless, 
more enjoyable, that we almost regret our 
high destiny as sons of God, and envy those 
whose consciences have grown callous to 
scruples and remorse. The constant peace 
and blessedness of God's service makes but 
a slight dint in our memory, compared with 
the occasional crosses and restraints which 
are the small price we pay for it." (2) If 

1 Is. xxiv. 5, 6. 

2 Tyrrell, S.J. Hard Sayings(Sin Judged by Reason). 



218 Plain Sermons. 

such thoughts suggest themselves to the 
minds of those who make some serious en- 
deavor in the way of righteousness who will 
enumerate their conquests in the souls of 
those who are the world's captives, and who 
are fettered by habits of sin! 

Let us read the tablets of our hearts in 
order to know how we have appreciated mor- 
tal sin. Alas! for most of us what a sorry 
perusal that inspection means. If, upon the 
record of our consciences, we were to find 
but one mortal sin, then, according to the 
mind of one of the great Fathers of the 
Church, we have sufficient reason for the 
continuous shedding of the tears of contri- 
tion. But this introspection, at least for 
most of us, would reveal a story unspeaka- 
bly more dreadful. Who shall measure 
our ingratitude, our rebellion? What words 
will describe that malice whereby we have 
endeavored, as says the Apostle, to crucify 
Jesus Christ again and again by our iniqui- 
ties? Have we, alas, so fallen under the 
dominion of the Evil One, that our iniquites 
are deeply rooted habits, enthralling us in 
the most degraded of slaveries? Have we 



Mortal Sin. 219 

been walking this many a day along the 
edge of an awful chasm in danger every 
moment of being precipitated into the abys- 
mal depths of everlasting perdition? O Be- 
loved, let us stop and reflect, and smite our 
breasts, crying out to the All Merciful God 
to stay the exercise of justice and wrath. 
Let us ask Jesus Christ to break our hearts 
with sorrow for our infidelities, and that we 
may be deeply penetrated with those dread 
words of the prophet Joel, " The day of the 
Lord is great and very terrible, and who 
can stand it?" (1) "Be converted to me 
with all your heart in fasting, in weeping 
and in mourning. And rend your hearts 
and not your garments, and turn to the 
Lord, your God." There are many who 
become horrified at their dreadful spiritual 
condition at times, and are stricken with a 
salutary fear of God's justice, when they be- 
hold their souls disfigured with the leprosy 
of mortal sin, and they turn to the Al- 
mighty in their anguish and cry out to him 
with hearts apparently filled with repent- 
ance, and yet, who shortly after this mani- 

1 Joel II, 2 et seq. 



220 Plain Sermons. 

festation of supernatural dispositions, fall 
back miserably into their former weaknesses. 
The explanation of this phenomenon is not 
far to seek. This turning to God is unac- 
companied with any serious reflection. It 
consists of a fervid and emotional act of 
contrition, with a hazy resolve in the direc- 
tion of future fidelity. There is no medita- 
tion upon the proximate occasions of past 
delinquencies, no abiding sense of insecur- 
ity, no realization of the urgent necessity of 
avoiding this dangerous person, place or 
thing, that has exercised so powerful an in- 
fluence in the past in the matter of leading 
the soul to the forfeiture of grace for the 
husks of sin. Again, it is a fact frequently 
observed by those whose business in life is 
the care of souls, that the habitual sinner 
who has been lifted from the captivity of sin 
to the liberty of spirit which belongs to the 
children of God, fancies himself secure and 
immune from the influences of temptation, 
as soon as he begins to breathe the pure air 
of God's grace; and this spiritual reckless- 
ness is but the preparation for new calami- 
ties. 



Mortal Sin. 221 

Let us realize, Beloved, that though af- 
flication of spirit is the fundamental element 
in our sorrow, yet the sense of our weak- 
ness and imbecility is strictly necessary to 
our future fidelity. Let us walk circum- 
spectly, u Redeeming the time," assays the 
Apostle, "not as unwise but as wise men." 

(1) Let us beg our blessed Redeemer to fill 
us with a deep, earnest conviction regarding 
the necessity of continuous watchfulness, 
and to bestow upon us that appreciation of 
our own nothingness which possessed the 
soul of Blessed Paul, "Not that we are able 
to think anything of ourselves, as of our- 
selves, but our sufficiency is from God." 

(2) "Watch and pray that ye enter not into 
temptation," (3) says Christ, and experi- 
ence demonstrates that this watchfulness 
and prayer may never be relaxed. Finally, 
let us not be discouraged even though we 
have lived only to offend God, for despair 
would but add to our guilt and drag us down 
more readily to perdition. Let us rather, 
through our tears of sorrow, look meekly up 

1 Eph. V. 15, 16. 3 Matt. XXVI, 41. 

2 Cor. Ill, 5. 



222 Plain Sermons. 

to Him, who loves lis with infinite tender- 
ness, begging Him for heart and hope, and 
grace to manifest the sincerity of our pen- 
ance by leading Christian lives. 



DEATH. 

"Statutum est hominibus semel mori." 

"It is appointed unto men once to die." — Heb. IX, 27. 

We live in a world of mystery. The 
marvelous surrounds m us on every side. 
We can give the last analysis of hardly any 
of nature's phenomena. Substance and 
matter are terms familiar to every ear, yet 
what do we know of them? The wise men 
of the world have quarrelled for ages about 
their essential constituents, and the end of 
their philosophical conjecture and specula- 
tion is not yet in sight. What is more 
mysterious than the law of death and 
destruction, whether we view it only in its 
relation to mankind, or in its larger, more 
universal application? With reason as the 
sole guide who will give us a satisfactory 
philosophy of death? Why should the 
little acorn expand and develop into the 
mighty giant of the mountain side, only to 
succumb to the laws of disintegration and 
death? Why should nature develop the 

(223) 



224 Plain Sermo?is. 

forms of strength, beauty, suppleness, keen 
instinct and perfection of organism, which 
we behold in the animal creation, since 
these forms all, inevitably, yield to the 
edict of destruction? How much more diffi- 
cult it is to answer the same question when 
it is proposed regarding man. A noted 
preacher of the age has said that as nature 
proclaims the existence of a Supreme Being, 
so the law of destruction and death, which 
we behold so universally applied in nature, 
proclaims the anger and vengeance of that 
same Being, for the rebellion of His responsi- 
ble creatures . Although this proposition is not 
beyond question, yet it furnishes a reasona- 
ble and probable explanation of death, and 
is thoroughly congruous with the teaching 
of revelation, for we know from the words 
of inspiration that death, at least in its rela- 
tion to man, is a manifestation of divine 
anger. 

"Statutum est hominibus semel mori." 
"It is appointed unto men once to die." (1) 
Men have called into question every other 
truth, but not this. "Thou shalt die the 

1 Heb. IX, 27. 



Death. 225 

death. n (1) Everybody capable of any real- 
ization knows with certainty that this sen- 
tence has been passed upon him, and that it 
will surely achieve its proper effect. We 
need not faith or revelation to prove this 
truth to us; reason and daily experience 
demonstrate it most fully. What is more 
familiar than death? We look upon it in 
the countenance of those whom the monster 
has marked for his own, and whose destruc- 
tion is being wrought by his agent, disease. 
We study it in the pallid countenance of a 
corpse. Our attention is frequently arrested 
by its mournful pageantry, the funeral pro- 
cession, and we feel its power in the grief 
and bereavement of the relations and friends 
of its victims. We see it everywhere, and 
we are deeply conscious that there will come 
a moment when death will fasten his icy 
fingers about our throats and shall crush 
out in us the vital spark. Nature hates it, 
nature trembles at the thought of it. There 
is no human ill which may be remotely 
compared with it. 

1 Gen. II, 17. 



226 Plain Sermons. 

Go into a house where death has seized 
for its prey the mother of a family. There, 
in a coffin, lies exposed the body of one 
whom those around called by the sweetest 
name given to mortals. Study the agony 
depicted upon the face of that young man 
who gazes in mute appeal upon that cold, 
j expressionless countenance, which has mir- 
rored for him the fondest affection, the 
warmest love and most delicate feelings of 
which the human breast is capable. A 
mighty sorrow fills this boy's heart and 
finds expression in heartrending sobs and 
copious tears. Look into the face of that 
daughter who fondly kisses the cold, clammy 
cheek of her dead mother, and trembles in 
her grief, as she realizes that her great pro- 
tection has been wrested from her. Study 
the grief of a young mother over the lifeless 
form of her babe, or the anguish of a wife 
from whom death has ruthlessly torn a 
faithful and loving husband. Yes, Beloved, 
death is truly horrible, but to ignore the 
thought of it were madness, as we shall 
further see. 



Death. 227 

The most harrowing thought concerning 
death has no relation to the physical misery 
or the temporal sorrow which it brings in 
its train. No, Beloved, that thought con- 
cerns itself w r ith the world to come. Death 
teaches us, above and before aught else, the 
transitory, ephemeral nature of all earthly 
things, and a meditation upon death brings 
most prominently before our minds the truth 
that the quality of our death will determine 
our eternal happiness or eternal misery. 
Hence, Holy Scripture declares those 
blessed who die in the Lord, "Beati mortui 
qui in Domino moriuntur, " " Blessed are the 
dead who die in the Lord;" (1) and again, 
the same inspired word declares the sinner's 
death appalling. " Before thy death work 
justice, for in hell there is no finding 
food." (2) Death is the end of all material 
things. "We must leave riches, honors, 
pleasures, our very bodies, dress, ornaments 
and all our surroundings. We are like men 
asleep and dreaming life away, but death is 
a great awakener, and when it arouses us, 

1 Apoc. XIV, 13. 

2 Ecclus. XIV, 17. 



228 Plain Sermons. 

we shall see and judge all things aright. 
We cannot take anything with us, but 
others will dislodge us and put us in a few 
feet of earth. Granted that our life was one 
of triumph and glory, still we shall die just 
like the humblest and most obscure." (1) 
O God, what a contemplation! Gaze at the 
rich man in the clutches of death. His 
couch is of down, but he no longer knows 
its softness. He is* surrounded by every 
luxury, but there is a film over his eyes 
and he can no longer feast his vision upon 
those bagatelles. He is' surrounded by 
friends, but his ear is no longer pleased with 
the music of their flattery. The treasures 
which he so diligently amassed are slipping 
through his stiffening fingers, and so, with 
a few agonizing gasps, he is dead. Men talk 
of him until the day of his obsequies; they 
will gather about his grave, but the closing 
of his tomb out of their memories forever 
shuts him. Go, again, into that charnal 
house a few days after the funeral bell has 
ceased its mournful music and what a 
dreadful apparition greets your eye, a black- 

1 Clare, S. J., "The Spiritual Life"— Death. 



Death. 229 

-lipped, hollow-eyed, ghastly corpse, which 
vile worms are beginning to feast upon, and 
which they will utterly devour. Examine 
more closely. That face was, perhaps, 
a face endowed with beauty, its complexion 
clear, and the blush of a rose lived in that 
cheek, but lo! how changed. All semblance 
of loveliness has forever vanished. In those 
hollow sockets there once dwelt eyes which 
sparkled with light and vivacity, and they, 
too, whither are they gone? That body was 
once filled with warm blood which imparted 
health and strength to its various members, 
and while in the enjoyment of life, perhaps, 
it was pampered and perfumed and indulged. 
Yea, perhaps, it reveled in lustful excesses, \ 
was worshipped and clad in fine raiment. 
Look at that heap of corruption and tremble 
with a mighty fear if you have placed your 
comfort in the fleeting gratifications of time. 
Listen to the voices which issue from that 
open grave ; as you stand gazing at its 
ghastly prisoner, 4 'Heri mihi, tibi hodie," 
" Yesterday for me, to-day for thee." (1) 
Yes, listen well to that awful message. 

1 Kcclus. XXXVIII, 23. 



230 Plain Sermons. 

The contemplation of that dead and rotten 
body is horrible from an objective point of 
view, but how mnch more, yea, immeasur- 
ably more harrowing does it become when 
we endeavor to realize that the dreadful 
picture before us represents most accurately 
our own future condition . What an over- 
whelming reflection! There shall come a 
day when those who now love me with the 
tenderest of loves, when those who are 
bound to me with the chords of Adam, and 
those to whose hearts mine is united by the 
ties of friendship, will fly, perhaps, from 
the poisoning stench of my decaying 
carcass. 

Ah, what a leveler is death. As you 
gaze upon the rotten form which we have 
placed before our mind's eye, can you 
discover the difference between the prince 
and pauper, the intellectual aristocrat and 
the ignorant clown? Nay, more, between 
the crowned king and the lowest of his 
peasant subjects? No, the notes of individ- 
uality or personality are obliterated forever 
by the hand of the destroyer. 



Death. 231 

"The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r, 
All that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, 
Await, alike, the inevitable hour, 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave.' ' (1) 

"All men are earth and ashes," (2) saith 
the Holy Ghost. How utterly insignificant 
and worthless, then, appear all earthly 
possessions, honors, comforts and pleasures 
in the presence of death. u Heri mihi, tibi 
hodie." 

This lesson in the vanity of transitory 
things is not the sole result of our reflections 
on death. We have said that a meditation 
upon this theme brings us forcibly face to 
face with the awful fact that our death 
determines our eternity. God has made 
us free and responsible. He has, further, 
determined that the highest exercise of our 
freedom should be realized in the working 
out of our salvation, that is, in living 
according to the principles of God's law and 
dying in the state of justification. I have 
said that death determines our eternity, 
because if, when the summons comes, call- 
ing my spirit forth from its dwelling-house 

1 Gray — Elegy. 

2 Bcclus XVII, 31. 



232 Plain Sermons. 

of clay, that spirit shall rejoice in the pos- 
session of God's grace, then my going into 
the valley of shades means simply my 
entrance npon the possession of eternal 
glory. If, on the other hand, my guilty 
spirit be weighted down by mortal sin, when 
I shall go forth to render an account of my 
stewardship, then my evil dispositions shall 
become stereotyped, so to speak, and for all 
eternity, an impassable gulf shall separate 
me from God and the joys of His home. 
Hence, the necessity of having a wholesome 
fear of death, and also the necessity of pro- 
found convictions concerning the great 
responsibility under which each one of us 
rests, of so ordering our lives as to die well. 
I shall surely die. This is an awful 
truth, yet much less fear-inspiring than the 
dreadful uncertainty which surrounds my 
death. When shall I die? How shall I die? 
Where shall I die? The answers to all 
these little queries are secrets hidden in the 
heart of God. When shall I die? Perhaps 
to-day or to-morrow, mayhap a month hence. 
"Estote parati, nescitis diem neque horam." 
"Be ye prepared, ye know not the day nor 



Death. 233 

the hour." (1) I have a little moment of 
time in my possession. It is the present. 
The future is utterly and completely beyond 
my control; nay, more, I do not possess 
the guarantee of five minutes of its time. 
Where shall I die? Shall it be at home, 
surrounded by relatives and sympathetic 
friends? Or shall it be among those whom 
I know not and in the midst of strange cir- 
cumstances and conditions? How shall I 
die? Shall I die a natural death, or shall I 
be the unfortunate victim of some dreadful 
violence or treachery? Shall I die in the 
friendship of God, or shall I die in mortal 
sin? Alas, even this I know not. We are 
simply told by Divine Truth to be diligently 
prepared, for we know not the day or the 
hour. How intelligible are the words of 
the apostle who speaks of working out our 
salvation with fear and trembling. How 
many of us appreciate, even after the most 
inadequate fashion, the dreadful meaning of 
those words, "I know not whether I shall 
die God's friend or His enemy." O, the 
unspeakable madness that has seized our 

1 Mark XIII, 33. 



234 Plai?i Sermons. 

minds and hearts, that blinds our intelli- 
gence in such wise that we think but of 
earthly affairs, and so corrupts our hearts 
that our loves are, for the most part, directed 
toward creatures, when we know, infallibly 
that at the summons we must throw aside 
forever the playthings of life and follow. 
Fortune has been kind to some of us, per- 
haps, and life may have been, for the most 
part, happy, and the world may have so 
fascinated us with its pleasures, that we aie 
loath to think of such a gruesome topic as 
death. Yes, the sweet, yearning, tender 
and even wild notes of the world's music 
may have held our hearts captive this many 
a day, but alas, its music will suddenly die 
away, and woe to us if our enthrallments 
have lasted till the end. How many fools 
put their trust in robust physical constitu- 
tions, or in human prudence and care to 
ward off the approach of death? The poor 
wretch who was crushed under the wheels of 
a locomotive this morning, died, perhaps 
in mortal sin. As he left his home to attend 
to his daily avocation he had never a doubt 
as to his return at eventide. The individual 



Death. 235 

who was found dead in his bed, and who had 
lived a life of sin, retired, perchance, with 
. some sort of resolve to arrange the affairs of 
his soul, and set his house in order, and as 
he closed his eyes in slumber he heard a 
dread voice, "Thou fool, this night, this 
night, do they require thy soul of thee." (1) 
How many are burning in hell at this very 
moment, writhing in the agonies of eternal 
despair, who placed their hopes in the 
fond dream of future repentance, when the 
shadows of death were already descending 
upon them? How many are dwellers in 
that abyss of sorrows eternal, who made 
some sort of effort to repair a life, reeking 
with iniquity, by an insufficient act of repent- 
ance, elicited when the cold sweat of death 
was already beginning to break upon their 
brows? Beloved, the dying man, in the 
vast majority of cases, is utterly unfit for the 
work of redeeming a mis-spent life. The 
forces of nature are so debilitated that he 
is incapable of effort, either intellectual or 
physical. Further thau this, it is expedient 
to observe that the dying are generally in- 

1 I,uke XII, 20. 



236 Plain Sermons. 

different to death, that is to say, their con- 
sciousness is of so low an order, that death's 
approach does not arouse them. " Think of 
thy last end and thou shalt never sin." (1) 
There is no subject proposed by the Church 
for our contemplation more thoroughly and 
reasonably calculated to stir in us fear of 
God's wrath, and to impel us on to fidelity 
in His service, than death. Alas, that we 
are so callous to its harrowing appeal. Per- 
haps some of us are in sin, so that our 
sudden taking off would mean our eternal 
perdition. If such be the case, ask the 
Almighty for an awakening of conscience in 
the silent night, and as the touch of grace 
lays open to your inspection your inner life, 
read, as in a book, that you may be terrified 
at the perusal, and cry to God for mercy. 
Regrets and broken resolves chase each 
other over the soul like the swift-winged 
birds of night, and infidelities of every 
species rise up distinct and clear from the 
uneasy but limpid depths of memory. Read 
in all this the sentence of your condemna- 
tion, if death overtakes you ere you repent. 
1 ' Estote parati . " " Be y e prepared . ' ' 

1 Ecclus.VII, 40. 



Death. 237 

The death of the just is free from terror. 
There is salutary fear of God's judgments, 
and there is an abiding, nay, immovable, 
trust and confidence in God's love and 
mercy. Truly is the death of the just man 
"gain," as St. Paul calls it. It is the enter- 
ing upon the possession of an eternal inher- 
itance of joys that know no human expres- 
sion. When the eyes of God's servants 
close in death the light of eternity illumines 
their pallid countenances, and reveals a 
suggestion of eternal peace and rest. God 
grant that ours may be the death of the 
just. May He lead us like little ones 
through the dark and the storm, helping us 
so to order our lives that they will lead, 
logically, to holy deaths. And when that 
supreme hour arrives, may He fortify us 
with His wondrous dispensations of grace, 
the sacraments of the Church. May our 
spirits be strengthened and refreshed by the 
flesh and blood of Him who, for us, died 
upon the wood, that those spirits may go 
forth with joy and confidence. What a beau- 
tiful subject for contemplation; the soul 
filled with the charity of Jesus Christ about 



238 Plain Sermons. 

to meet its Judge. God grant that such 
may be our going forth; that we may faintly 
hear the sweet strains of angels' music, as 
we leave the sordid earth and all its sorrows. 
Loving hands will be stretched forth to stay 
us, yea, and voices of those we loved will 
cry out to us to tarry. But we will push 
those fond arms gently back, and forth shall 
we speed from our fragile dwelling-house, 
and over the waters, but nothing daunted 
by the gloom, for the strains of that music 
sliall clearer grow as onward we speed, and 
as the sunshine of God's blessed home shall 
break upon us, and as our souls shall be 
transported by the celestial melodies, we 
shall be ushered into the presence of the 
Almighty Judge, and from His blessed lips 
we shall drink in the words which shall 
unite us to Him forever. "Well done, thou 
good and faithful servant, because thou hast 
been faithful over few things I will place 
thee over many, enter into the joys of thy 
Lord." (1) 

1 Matt. XXV, 21. 



JUDGMENT. 

4 'Dies ilia, dies irae calamitatis et miseriae, dies magna et 
amara valde dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem." 

''That day is a day of wrath, of wasting and of misery, a 
great and most bitter day, when Thou shalt come to judge 
the world by fire." — (Office of the Dead.) 

Beloved, the philosophers tell us that the 
sense of the beautiful and sublime is natural 
to man, and that from this sense flows the 
love and appreciation of beauty and sublim- 
ity. This appreciation, though crude and 
undeveloped, exists even in the souls of 
savages. We are especially conscious of 
this sense in our souls, since by God's lov- 
ing indulgence, we enjoy the benefits of a 
high civilization. We love to gaze upon 
the mountains, as rosy-fingered morn, clad 
in saffron and gold, steps blithely over their 
summits; or, again, at eventide, when they 
are obscured by mists of opal. We love to 
feast our eyes upon the hills, bathed in the 
golden luxuriance of the sun's rays, or to 
study the shimmer of the moon's silver 
light upon the placid bosom of a lake. We 

(239) 



240 Plain Sermons. 

stand upon the seashore, filled with emotion, 
as we note the eternal trouble of the waves, 
and list to the monotonous requiem they 
chant so ceaselessly over the dead buried in 
the ocean's awful depths. Our sense of the 
beautiful is not aroused, nor the depths of 
our emotions stirred only by those things of 
wonder and sublimity, which are directly 
from the creative hand. No, Beloved, we 
admire, and a*e deeply affected by the works 
of art and genius. We look with ecstatic 
admiration upon the mute figure of marble, 
which the sculptor's hand has all but 
invested with life. We listen with rapture to 
the poet singing his heroes, and their vicis- 
situdes and deeds of valor and tragic end- 
ings; or, again, to his sweet pastoral lays, 
which speak the softer and merrier phases 
of life. We are controlled and led captive 
by the sweet strains of music. 

The gospel story, Beloved, abounds in 
the narrative of facts which teem with those 
characteristics most calculated to stir men's 
souls to their lowest depths; beauty, awful - 
ness, sublimity, and yet, for the most part, 
these wondrous facts impress us but slight^. 



Judgment. 241 

What more full of beauty than the vision 
of my Jesus transfigured upon the moun- 
tain top? What more awe-inspiring than 
the dead Lazarus breaking asunder the 
bonds of death and coming forth from the 
sepulchre in the freshness of life, restored 
by the simple command of Christ? What 
grander than the picture of the calm-visaged 
Saviour, rising in majesty before the warring 
elements, subduing the surging billows 
and the shrieking winds by His simple 
word of command, u Peace, be still!" What 
shall we say of that sublimest of dramas, 
most awful of tragedies — The God-man 
lifted up in nakedness and stretched out 
in dislocation — dead, amidst most dreadful 
upheavals of nature ? Finally , what more aw- 
ful than the description of His last coming; 
" There shall be signs in the sun and in the 
moon and in the stars, and upon the earth 
distress of nations, by reason of the confu- 
sion of the roaring of the sea and of the 
waves. Men withering away for fear and 
expectation of what shall come upon the 
whole world. For the powers of Heavens 



242 Plain Sermons. 

shall be moved, and they shall see the Son 
of Man coming in a cloud with great power 
and maj esty ? " ( 1 ) 

"And immediately after the tribulation 
of those days, the sun shall be darkened 
and the moon shall not give her light and 
the stars shall fall from heaven." "And, 
then shall appear the Sign of the Son of 
Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes 
mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man 
coming in the clouds of heaven with great 
power and majesty and He shall send His 
angels with a trumpet and a great voice, 
and they shall gather together His elect from 
the farthest parts of the heavens, to the ut- 
termost bounds of them." (2) 

Strange, dearly Beloved, that thousands 
of those who know Christ and His revelation 
by faith, should be utterly callous to these 
thrilling descriptions. These words should 
stir us more deeply, rouse us more fully 
than the most striking creations of intelli- 
gence and imagination, since they describe 
an absolute and tremendous fact, one hav- 

1 Luke XXI, 25, et-seq. 

2 Matt. XXIV, 29, et-seq. 



Jtidgment. 243 

ing relations of the highest conceivable 
import to mankind, taken as a whole, a fact, 
finally, of harrowing interest to* each indi- 
vidual member of society. Almighty God 
has made us responsible beings. Since then, 
man is responsible, and since God gives him 
the powers requisite for the performance of 
the work committed to him, we conclude the 
reasonableness, the perfect justice of God in 
arraigning man before His dread bar of jus- 
tice. As we reflect upon this mighty drama, 
which has both its joyous and terrible side, 
we are reminded of those striking words of 
the ninety -first psalm, "O Lord, how great 
are thy works, thy thoughts are exceedingly 
deep. The senseless man shall not know, 
nor will the fool understand these things. 
When the wicked shall spring up as grass, 
and the workers of iniquity shall appear, 
that they may perish forever and ever." 
"The just shall flourish like the palm tree. 
They shall flourish in the courts of the 
house of our God." 

The gathering of the just to the eternal 
dwelling-house of God, is the triumph of 
that divine love and mercy, which were the 



244 Plain Sermons. 

motives of Jesus Christ's bloody sacrifice on 
Calvary; — and the eternal repudiation of the 
reprobates is the triumph of that justice 
which remains forever. No theme within 
the scope of human thought has furnished 
more inspiration to preacher, poet or painter, 
than the General Judgment. In those 
wondrous temples reared by the tremendous 
religious energy of the Middle Ages, we 
find some of the greatest triumphs of genius 
consecrated to this subject. We find it 
vividly represented by the sculptor's hand. 
Within the hallowed precincts of the sanctu- 
ary we see it again, receiving all the fervid 
devotion of the painter's talent, and, finally, 
we behold it brilliantly portrayed upon many 
of the glorious windows that fill those sacred 
fanes with such a wealth of soft radiance. 

And when, from the four winds of heaven,* 
the tribes shall obey the trumpet peal, when 
the sea shall give up its dead and the des- 
ert the victims of its trackless wastes, whefi 
into the valley of judgment the entire hu- 
man family shall be gathered together, then 
shall the Son of Man come, clad in the pan- 
oply of His majesty, and all His angels with 
him. 



Judgment. 245 

The better to appreciate the signification 
which the General Judgment has for the in- 
dividual soul, it is expedient to reflect upon 
the fact, which determines the sentences of 
Jesus Christ on the last day. That fact, 
Beloved, is the awful interview which takes 
place between the soul and its judge im- 
mediately after its earthly pilgrimage. Con- 
sider the sinner in the presence of his God. 
That soul is suddenly illuminated by the 
light of eternity, and in that light grasps 
with a lucidity, which baffles description, 
the full extent of its obligations , all the con- 
sequences of the graces showered upon it, 
and all the malice of its sins, "In thy light 
we shall see light, n * says the psalmist. 
Not, indeed, that this Soul was without that 
illumination required during its pilgrimage, 
for the right understanding of its duties. 
Your soul, O sinner, in the presence of God. 
There is no possible avenue of escape. 
What an appalling situation! Behold this 
disciple of mammon, this voluptuary, this 
contemner of religious obligations, in the 
presence of that Judge who has beheld every 
* Ps. xxxv, 10. 



246 Plain Sermons, 

infidelity of this poor wretch, yea, whose vis- 
ion has penetrated to the most secret hiding- 
place of the sinner's heart, and who now is 
about to wreak eternal vengeance npon the 
unfortunate. Is there testimony against him? 
Yes, his lord and master, that being whom 
he has served with much fidelity — the devil — 
is his chief accuser. The arch-fiend shall 
confront the unfortunate wretch with this 
query: " How hast thou fulfilled the prom- 
ises of baptism whereby thou didst vow to 
renounce me and my machinations ? ' ' Then , 
turning to the Judge: " Eternal and Omnip- 
otent Judge, my blood did not purple the 
soil of Gethsemane's sombre shades for 
him, nor was the thorny crown of ignominy 
and agony pressed upon my brows for him, 
nor was I suspended 'twixt heaven and earth, 
a mangled victim of human frenzy for him; 
all these things didst Thou suffer to pur- 
chase for him eternal joys, yet I was his 
master. Thou has lost him forever. Pro- 
nounce the sentence that will secure him 
to me. Let him be mine through sin, since 
he has refused to be Thine through grace." 
This is the fact that shall determine the sin- 



Judgment. 247 

ner's position on the last day, "when the 
heavens and the earth shall be moved!" 
This, the fact that shall place him upon the 
left of the Judge to await the sentence, which 
shall condemn him irrevocably and irreme- 
diably to an eternity of misery. 

Behold the Judge, seated upon His throne, 
Jesus Christ; but what a marvelous transi- 
tion has been wrought ! Is this the helpless 
babe of Bethlehem that fled before the wrath 
of Herod? Is this the humble boy of Naza- 
reth — this, the meek-eyed prophet, who went 
about teaching and consoling, healing and 
forgiving — the lover of little ones, the vol- 
untary victim of contumely, misrepresen- 
tation, persecution and even death? Can 
this be Jesus, who was known as the sinner's 
friend, his brother, his redeemer? Yes, it 
is He, but to-day, oblivious of all other titles, 
He is simply the Judge. "Ask of me, and 
I will give to thee the nations of the earth 
for thine inheritance." (1) This the 
command of the Eternal Father. "Father' ' 
says the divine Son, "I have finished the 
work which thou gavestme to do." "And 

1 Ps. II, 8. 



248 Plain Sermons. 

now glorify thou me, O Father, with thyself , 
with that glory which I had before the 
world was, with thee." (1) And as he sits 
upon the Judgment seat, He is come into 
the possession of universal empire, and the 
tribes of the earth are His inheritance, and 
they are at His feet, awaiting judgment. 
What a Judge! Holiness itself; hence, hav- 

' ing for even the slightest iniquity a horror, 
which no word could express "Siiniquitates 
observaveris Domine, Domine, quis sustine- 
bit." "If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark in- 
iquities, Lord, who shall stand it?" (2) A 
Judge from whose notice no secret hid- 
ing-place of the soul shall cover up 
lurking guilt — for He is omniscient; from 
that eye no shameful deed shall obtain con- 
cealment. O God! the confusion of that mo- 
ment. "Justitia ejus manet in saeculum 

isaeculi." His justice continueth forever 
and ever." (3) A Judge absolutely and 
eternally just, omnipotent, — hence, from 
His sentence there is no appeal; immutable, 

1 Joan XVII, 4, 5. 

2 Ps. CVI, 3. 

3 Ps. CX, 3. 



Judgment . 249 

therefore, through endless eternities, not a 
jot or a tittle of His sentence shall be re- 
voked. None shall escape the examination, 
no sin, therefore, shall escape chastisement. 
How overwhelming the thought of this aw- 
ful drama! How terrifying to each and 
every one of us, when we reflect upon it in 
its relations to our sins! In order that the 
perfection of His justice shall be manifest to 
every creature, He shall force the reprobate 
to drink the cup of confusion to its bitter- 
est dregs. " Nothing is covered that shall 
not be revealed!" "nor hid that shall not 
be known." (1) "Ten thousand times a 
hundred thousand stood before him; the 
judgment sat and the books were opened. n (2) 
The depravity and perversity of the wicked 
shall be proclaimed before the entire world. 
Sins against religion, sins against the name 
of God and against His day, sins of parent 
against child, and of child against parent, 
sins of anger, scandal and revenge, the dark 
deeds of murder and lust, even those hidden 
from all, save the eye of God, sins of injus- 

1 Matt. X, 26. 

2 Dan. VII, 10. 



250 Plain Sermo?is. 

tice and fraud, sins of detraction and cal- 
umny, sins of pretence and hypocrisy, the 
breaking down of Christ's law of love, sins 
of the mind and of the heart, sins of omis- 
sion, in a word, every sin that shall have 
gone to make up the horrible history of hu- 
man infidelity. " Nothing is hidden that 
shall not be revealed." And when the 
dreadful ceremony of gathering the testi- 
monies shall have been fulfilled, the Judge 
shall rise to pronounce sentence. To the 
just gathered upon his right, to those whose 
lives have been marked by a faithful observ- 
ance of His Father's Commandments, or 
who have, at least, washed away their sins 
with the tears of efficacious repentance — to 
those he will say, " Come, ye blessed of my 
Father, possess the kingdom prepared for 
you."* Enter into the possession of eternal 
joys in my Father's house where there 
shall be no tears, nor sighs, nor griefs, nor 
heartaches forever. There shall your cup 
of joy be full; there shall you be set on fire 
by the flames of divine love, and basking in 
the sunlight of my Father's countenance, 

* Matt. XXV, 34. 



Judgment. 251 

you shall sing the anthems of eternal praise. 
Enter in, and take up your abodes in the 
courts of eternal peace. Turning to the 
wicked, He shall say in a voice of thunder, 
" Depart, ye accursed, into everlasting fire, 
prepared for Satan and his angels." * Be- 
gone, every tie between us is severed for- 
ever. Hence, into the eternal abyss ye 
wandering sheep, I am no longer your Shep- 
herd. In my kingdom ye shall have 
nought of inheritance. Depart, ye accursed, 
accursed in your intellects, which shall never 
know the consolation of a holy thought, ac- 
cursed in your reprobate hearts, into which 
there shall never enter a ray of hope, nay, 
which shall be sunk in the depths of despair 
eternally. Depart into everlasting fire. 

Beloved, may we not, without any violent 
stretch of imagination, fancy the howls of 
despair that shall rise from that motley 
throng of damned souls, as they shall troop 
toward their abode of never ending misery? 
The poet Dante describes in his fancy the gate 
of hell, and upon the key stone of its arch 
he inscribes these words, "All ye that enter 

* Matt. XXV, 34. 



252 Plain Ser?nons. 

here leave all hope behind." (1) Although 
this is a creation of his poetic genius, yet, 
Beloved, it embodies an infallible doctrine 
of our faith. The damned lose God, they 
lose Him through no fault save theirs, and 
they lose Him forever. These dread truths 
are all-sufficient for contemplation and fruit- 
ful meditation upon the truth of the judg- 
ment of God, though we should live a thou- 
sand years. As the damned shall gaze upon 
Christ, clad in the garment of His glory, 
they will see in Him the end for which they 
were created. They will become convinced 
by a most powerful object-lesson that He, 
alone, was worth living for; that He, alone, 
is the universal good; He, alone, perfect and 
beautiful and amiable, and in the knowl- 
edge, furnished at that dread moment by 
one brilliant flash, they shall learn what 
they have lost. This knowledge shall 
become maddening, because, voluntarily, 
they rejected Him, because they despised 
Him. 

Add to this the consciousness that the 
loss is irremediable, and then the mind is 

1 Inferno, Canto III. 



fudgment. 253 

almost paralyzed by the terrible reflection. 
Beloved, "The day of the Lord is great and 
very terrible, and who can stand it?" * The 
lesson of the Judgment is one of salutary 
fear, that fear which is a lamp to our feet in 
the way of righteousness, the way which 
•leads us to eternal union with God. That 
lesson of fear can not be learned, Beloved, 
without deep reflection upon the meaning of 
death and the value of time. We know by 
faith that our death determines the quality 
of our judgment, and hence the death of 
the sinner is the worst conceivable death, 
since it determines the sentence which will 
plunge the sinner's soul into hell. And 
the quality of our death is determined by 
our appreciation of the time given to us for 
the working out of our salvation. The world 
values an object because it is rare, or because 
it conduces largely to man's comfort and 
luxury. Why do we regard gold with so 
much higher an estimation than that which 
we bestow upon the basest of metals? One 
will not support animal life more than the 
other, but the former is infinitely rarer than 
the latter, and as such gathers to itself 
* Joel II, 10, 



254 Plain Sermons. 

appreciation and power, and makes itself 
valuable in procuring luxurious conditions 
of life. Who will rightly appreciate the 
rarity of time? The past is gone from me 
forever. The future is completely outside 
of my control. I have in my possession 
but one little moment and lo! it is hastily 
slipping away. What is its value? Beloved, 
it may determine my judgment. Nay, there 
shall come a moment of time that shall 
surely determine that judgment, and, ulti- 
mately, my eternity. O, let us tremble at 
the thought of that great day, "That day of 
wrath, of wasting and of misery. n Let us 
realize as far as we can the great personal 
meaning that day has for us. 

"Quando judex est venturus 
Cuncta stricte discussurus," 

"When descending from the sky, 
Comes the Judge our souls to try," * 

that dread day of scrutiny and examination. 
And let us resolve so to live, as to earn a 
title to that sentence which shall make us 
co-heirs with Christ in the kingdom of His 
Father. "Come, ye blessed of my Father, 
possess the kingdom prepared for you." 

* Hymn "Dies Irae," 



HEAVEN. 

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it 
entered into the heart of man, what things God hath pre- 
pared for those that love Him." (1) 

Is life worth the living? How frequently 
do we hear this little query proposed by the 
men and women around us. Society, with 
its patent insensibility to religious truth, 
daily discusses the above question. Books 
and pamphlets and brochures by the score 
have had this interrogation or its equivalent 
as title and theme. It is never asked 
seriously by those who believe in God's 
interest in the human soul and its destiny, 
and given a soul without religious belief, 
utterly incredulous of an hereafter, I confess 
that the query seems reasonable, for if our 
existence here is the be all and end all, then, 
truly, it is hardly worth the living. There 
is no happiness joined with security; there 
is no real haven of rest; no joy unaccom- 
panied with the consciousness that it will 
soon exhaust itself and be followed, perhaps, 

1 1 Cor. II, 9. 

(255) 



256 Plain Sermons. 

by pain; no pleasure that gives complete 
satisfaction; few indeed, that are not min- 
gled with bitterness. There is no love that 
may not be exposed to the chilly blasts of 
indifference or inconstancy. There is no 
perfect satisfaction to the inquiring mind. 
Well has this great big world of ours been 
called a valley of tears, for wretchedness, 
disease, misery, infidelity and blood-shed 
form a tremendous element in its sad, sad 
history. 

Is life worth living? Beloved, we find an 
unspeakably consoling answer in the words 
of my text: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear 
heard, neither hath it entered into the heart 
of man, what things God hath prepared for 
those that love Him." But what is the 
connection between question and answer ? 
some one may say. Simply this, that the 
condition placed for the ultimate enjoyment 
of the aforesaid happiness is the successful 
living of life. Upon the stupendous fact of 
judgment we have already meditated, and 
we have endeavored, as best we could, to 
peep into the dreadful abode of the damned, 
and hence, it is fitting that to-day we should 



Heaven. 257 

endeavor to learn a lesson of consolation and 
hope from a few thoughts on heaven. The 
words of our text would seem at first view 
to discourage us from meditating upon 
heaven. It would appear like trying to 
climb an inaccessible height, since even the 
most illumined notions of the joys of the 
blessed have fallen utterly short of the 
reality. "It hath not entered into the heart 
of man to conceive" of them, says the 
Apostle. Yet the Divine Word furnishes us 
with so many glimpses and suggestions as 
to make it perfectly clear that God wishes 
us to apply our minds, even after our poor 
feeble manner, to the happiness of His celes- 
tial home, and the saints and doctors of the 
Church have given us an abundance of 
teaching upon this consoling truth. 

According to the teaching of St. Thomas, 
the Angelic Doctor, the eternal happiness 
for which man is destined will consist in 
the highest conceivable operation of his 
being, namely, the operation of his intellect, 
and that highest conceivable exercise of this 
faculty will be realized, says St. Thomas, 
in knowing God as He is. "Everything in 



258 Plain Sermons. 



an actual state of existence," says the saint, 
' ' is assuredly knowable . " ( 1 ) Now God is the 
purest of actualities without any admixture 
of accident, and hence, is beyond doubt 
knowable. Although knowable by. His very 
nature, yet on account of the immensity of 
His being He may be unintelligible to . a 
created intellect, just as the sun, which is 
unquestionably visible, may not be easily 
gazed at on account of its excessive bril- 
liancy. Hence, some amongst the older 
theologians of the Church maintained that 
the vision and understanding of God was 
utterly impossible to the human soul. In 
answer to this we say with St. Thomas, 
that if the intellect of man cannot ulti- 
mately look upon the essence of God, then 
either man will obtain no ultimate beatitude, 
or he shall find it elsewhere than in God, 
and both hypotheses are diagonally opposed 
to faith and Holy Scripture. There is, fur- 
thermore, in the mind of man an intense 
and constant desire to know the cause as 
soon as an effect is brought under observa- 
tion. This does not concern itself with sec- 

1 Summa. Theol. I, 2, 12, a. c. 



Heaven. 259 

ondary causes only, and if the first cause is 
to hide Himself from us forever, then there 
has been placed by God in the souls of men 
an empty and utterly futile wish, which 
supposition is repugnant to reason. Con- 
sonant with this conclusion are the words of 
Holy Writ: "When He shall have appeared 
we shall be like to Him, and we shall see 
Him as He is." (1) In the contemplation 
of this thought I am forced to cry out with 
the Apostle, "Give thanks to God the 
Father, who hath made us worthy to be par- 
takers of the lot of the saints in light." (2) 
"The lot of the saints in light," perfect 
knowledge, perfect love, possession of God 
forever. What is that light, the light of 
glory, which Scripture and Christian theol- 
ogy speak of so frequently? It is, Beloved, 
an illumination bestowed upon the created 
intellect in order that perception of God 
may be possible. Let us make this clear 
from a human analogy. "The strongest 
human eye in a most perfect condition of 
development, in order to see, needs that 

1 1 Joan III, 2. 

2 Coloss. I, 12. 



260 Plain Sermons. 

light which makes the object of vision visi- 
ble, and so in the blessed life to come, both 
our exterior and interior senses , in order that 
they may gaze upon the ineffably sublime 
objects of the supernatural world, need a 
light in harmony with that world super- 
natural and divine. The bodily organ may 
be as powerful and piercing as that of an 
eagle, yet nothing would or could be visible 
to it if no light existed to bring external 
objects within the scope of vision. * * * 
While we are in this body of the flesh, God 
and the entire spiritual world are shrouded 
in mist or darkness impenetrable. When 
the soul is freed from the body, and no 
moral obstacle interferes with her enjoyment 
of the rewards of the perfect life, the Crea- 
tor, to prepare her for that clear knowledge 
of Himself which is the reward of faith, per- 
fects all her powers. The supernatural 
element which He adds to the faculties He 
has Himself created is most aptly called by 
schools of theology and the councils the 
light of glory." (1) 

"This light celestial elevates the human 

1 Reilly, Novissima, p. 99. 



Heaven. 261 

intellect to a divine state of existence and 
vital action, enabling it to behold the Divine 
essence as it is in itself, expanding its capa- 
city so as to embrace, as far as a finite being 
can, the Divine immensity. And the Divine 
revealed essence fills the sonl with itself, an 
ocean of being, of perfection, beanty and 
loveliness.' J (1) The mind, in a word, is 
filled with God. All inqniry and speculation 
have died away and faith has blossomed into 
the enjoyment of perfect knowledge of the 
Divinity, seen in His height and depth, His 
length and breadth, and the will possesses 
and enjoys God by virtue of an entirely new 
capacity which has been communicated to 
it, an energy which unables it to sieze upon 
the source of all happiness. 

What an awful contemplation! The heart 
almost recoils at the superabundant light, 
magnificence and splendor of the lot of saints. 
Gazing intelligently at the infinity of the 
Divine essence, understanding the immensity 
of His Being and the length of His days, if 
so I may speak, basking in the warmth of 
His eternal love, they rest in Him forever. 

1 Reilly, Novissima, p. 99. 



262 Plain Sermons. 

And they understand with ineffable clear- 
ness the wondrous harmony that exists 
between His justice and mercy, between His 
long-suffering and His mighty wrath . They 
profoundly realize that He alone is capable 
of filling every void in this poor, yearning 
soul of ours which so ceaselessly desires 
perfect, perpetual happiness. They behold 
with an indescribable clearness the three 
Divine Persons, and the most perfect fashion 
in which they proceed one from the other; 
how the Son proceeds from the Father, and 
the Spirit from Father and Son; they see 
the cycle of God's inner life. They see the 
reconciliation between free-will and God's 
fore-knowledge. They see all; they are set 
on fire by the knowledge of God's perfection 
and amiability, and they possess all forever 
and forever, with an undisturbable con- 
sciousness that the most perfect of all con- 
ceivable joys is theirs, a consciousness of 
absolute security, a consciousness of perfect 
rest. Their 's the society and company of 
seraphim and cherubim, who ceaselessly 
chant the praises of the Most High; their 's 
the company of thrones, dominations and 



Heaven. 263 

powers, that minister at the august throne 
of the Most Blessed Trinity. What a blessed 
society they themselves make up, the Patri- 
archs and Prophets, Apostles and Martyrs, 
Confessors and Virgins, in a word, all those 
blessed souls who have run successfully 
in the course, who have fought the good 
fight, who have kept the faith, and who are 
now crowned with the laurels of victory, the 
crown of eternal justice, of never-fading 
glory. 

This then, is our destiny, this the lot 
which infinite love has prepared for you and 
me individually. When we meditate upon 
heaven and its joys we begin to understand 
why the Almighty created us to His own 
image and likeness; we begin to perceive 
w T hy His justice has been thwarted, so to 
speak, since the beginning of man's history, 
in order that His mercy might ever furnish 
the clearest evidence of His love for mankind. 
It is true that sporadically, He has poured 
out the vials of His wrath upon the heads 
of persistent sinners, and whole peoples have 
been swept from the face of the earth in 
consequence of these dreadful visitations. 



264 Plaiji Sermo?is. 

But these instances are unwonted and extra- 
ordinary. We begin to grasp His patience, 
His benign providence, His love, which had 
its greatest outpouring in the giving of His 
adorable Son to suffering and death, in order 
that the rupture between Himself and His 
rebellious children might be effectually 
healed, and that they might again have an 
opportunity of enjoying Him forever. 

What shall we say of that struggle for the 
achievement of eternal life, which is the lot 
of every one. Heaven is our destiny, but 
since we are both free and responsible, it is 
the reward of fidelity and perseverance in 
righteousness. The struggle is arduous, 
but He who has prepared for us the eternal 
joys, promises the strength and ability to 
wage successful warfare against the world, 
the flesh and the devil. What are the chief 
motives for courage in this life-long battle? 
They are the powers arrayed on our side. 
God loving our souls, interested in their 
salvation as a matter intimately connected 
with His glory; Jesus Christ, His Son, who, 
as says Holy Writ, ceaslessly advocates our 
cause as Representative and High Priest; 



Heaven. 265 

His mother Mary, who desires, after the 
glory of her Lord, the fulfillment of the 
motive of Jesus Christ offering Himself a 
mangled victim on Calvary; our triumphant 
brethren, the saints above, who offer in our 
behalf the sweet incense of prayerful suf- 
frage. Upon this earth we have the Church 
of Christ, with its sacraments, channels of 
divine grace, the means of regeneration, 
forgiveness and spiritual strength, the body 
and blood of Jesus Christ, the most especially 
nourishing principle of the soul's life. 

Who, dearly Beloved, in the face of these 
wondrous and most efficatious helps, need 
fall a prey to the devil's wily insinuations, 
the allurements of the world, or the corrupt 
tendencies of the flesh? We know that the 
tyranny of bad habits is difficult to over- 
throw, that the lethargy of indifference 
yields not easily to the suggestions of grace, 
but, Beloved, we have the unerring word of 
our Divine Exemplar, that no matter what 
the powers arrayed against us may be, the 
proper use of the means at our disposal will 
lead, unquestionably, to conquest. 

What an incentive have we for struggling 



266 Plain Sermons, 

on courageously, ' 'walking circumspectly, 
redeeming the time!" The days are evil, 
it is true, and the world with its false 
maxims and principles, is, indeed, fascinat- 
ing. Its gay, rollicking and careless spirit 
attunes itself , in a most insidious fashion, to 
our nature. Pride, ambition, selfishness 
and lust are rife on every side, and so 
accustomed do we become to vice, that we 
are sometimes tempted to think that it is 
rather- a manifestation of simple, human 
frailty than of malice. And the path to 
heaven seems, at times, almost too difficult 
to travel. The cross, the inevitable cross, 
looms up continuously. That journey on 
towards heaven's gate means constant mor- 
tification of self, the patient endurance of 
wrong and, often enough, of gross injustice, 
affliction of spirit, and of times heart-break, 
the severance of the bonds of love, the willing 
endurance of suffering brought by disease 
and death. But, dearly Beloved, heaven is 
worth it all. Before us in the journey is 
the Man of Sorrows bearing a heavy cross, 
and on it the burden of our delinquencies. 
O the sorrow of that face! From time to 



Heaven. 267 

time He totters and falls, and His footprints 
are marked with blood that flows adown His 
sacred Person. Why this horrible spectacle? 
Jesus Christ is making heaven possible for 
you, and will you recoil? No, Beloved, let 
us trudge onward up the rocky steeps and 
through the cold, the storm and the dark, 
keeping our eyes fixed firmly upon the 
beacon light, which is our guiding star and 
there will come an end to the journey, and 
there shall dawn upon our vision, like a 
gorgeous sunburst, the light of God's blessed 
city, the heavenly Jerusalem, with its 
" Walls of jasper, its foundations of all 
manner of precious stones, its gates of 
pearl, and its streets of pure gold, trans- 
parent as glass. " (1) There we shall dwell 
forever in the house of our Father, and there 
shall we see and know and love forever our 
own whom we have mourned, those near 
and dear, who have preceded us through 
the shadowy vale of death. Then shall we 
be united in Christ forever. "Thou hast 
made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our heart 
knoweth no rest till it reposes in Thee." (2) 

1. Apoc. XX, 18, 21. 

2 St. Aug. Confessions, C. I. 



26S Plain Sermons. 

God grant, dearly Beloved, that we who 
have turned our faces toward the blessed 
city may not perish by the wayside. May 
He who loved us unto the shedding of His 
blood lead us on, for perhaps, some of us are 
far from home. May He lead us on 
" Through the encircling gloom." May He 
keep our feet. 

1 'O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till 
The night is gone." (1) 

And when the blessed morn of eternity shall 
dawn upon us, in whose bright light the face 
of God, and the vision of His blessed angels 
and the Holy City shall burst upon us, we 
will cry out in rapture: "How lovely are 
Thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts, my soul 
longeth and faint eth for the courts of the 
Lord. Blessed are they that dwell in Thy 
house, O Lord, forever and forever shall 
they praise Thee." (2) "O Israel, how 
great is the house of God, and how vast is 
the place of His possession. It is great and 
hath no end; it is high and immense." (3) 

1 Newman's "Lead, Kindly Iyight." 

2 Ps. IvXXXIII, 1, 5. 

3 Baruch III, 24, 25. 



PRAYER. 

4 'Ask and it shall be given you." (1) 

Beloved, experience teaches us that the 
human heart can do little to aid itself in the 
spiritual life. It stands in dire need of 
God's blessed hand, and in its most debili- 
tated and feeble condition it is always in- 
vested with sufficient power to turn to Him. 
No matter what the sinner's record may be, 
God's mercy always keeps inviolate in that 
soul sufficient grace to cry out for Divine 
help. The necessity of this grace, however, 
is not confined to seasons of spiritual weak- 
ness and sinfulness, for though man can 
rise by the help of God to the heights of 
sanctity, yet there is never a moment when 
his own unassisted frailty may not betray 
him into the hands of the Devil. Hence, 
there must be always present a conviction as 
to the necessity of continually turning to 
God for grace, help and consolation. This 
turning to God is effected principally by 

1 Matt. VII, 7. 

(269) 



270 Plain Sermons, 

the exercise of prayer. "The hand of our 
God is upon all those that seek Him in 
goodness." (1) 

Prayer is the raising of our minds 
and hearts to God to adore and praise Him, 
to thank Him for His benefits, and to beg 
Him for all the graces and favors necessary 
to soul and body. 

From this description of prayer, Beloved, 
it is plain that we may pray after different 
fashions; that there are various sorts or 
kinds of prayer. There is, first, the prayer 
of adoration and praise, by which we ac- 
knowledge the greatness of God and praise 
the wonderful excellence of His perfections. 
"I will give glory to thee, O Lord, among 
the nations, and I will sing a psalm to thy 
name," (2) says the psalmist. "Sing 
praises to our God, sing ye; sing praises to 
our King, sing ye. For God is king of all 
the earth, sing ye wisely; God shall reign 
over the nations; God sitteth on His holy 
throne." (3) "O praise the Lord all ye 

1 Ksdras VIII, 22. 

2 Ps. XVII, 50. 

3 Ps. XLVI, 7, 8, 9. 



Prayer. 271 

nations, praise Him all ye people." (1) 
Secondly, there is the prayer of thanks, by 
which we tender to God our tribute of grati- 
tude for all that His tender mercies have 
bestowed upon us, whether of the spiritual or 
temporal order. " Speaking to yourselves in 
psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles, 
singing and making melody in your hearts 
to the Lord, giving thanks always and for 
all things in the name of our Lord, Jesus 
Christ, to God and the Father." (2) It was 
the neglect of this species of prayer, that 
caused the Prophet Isaias to cry out, 
"Hear, Oye heavens, and give ear, O earth, 
for the Lord hath spoken; I have brought 
up children and have exalted them, but they 
have despised me. Woe to the sinful na- 
tion * * * ungracious children! they have 
forsaken the Lord." (3) Finally, Breth- 
ren, there is the prayer of petition or sup- 
plication, by which we implore God to grant 
us all we need, for soul and body. It is of 
this species of prayer that I wish to treat. 

1 Ps. cxvi, l. 

2 Kph. V, 19, 20. 

3 Is. I, 2, 4. 



272 Plai7i Sermons. 

especially to-day, since petition is the princi- 
pal part of prayer. 

Prayer is strictly necessary as a means 
for obtaining salvation. The Catholic 
Chnrch teaches ns that in order to perform 
any act, having the slighest influence in the 
way of helping ns on toward salvation, it is 
necessary that we be assisted by God's 
grace. This is fonnded npon the words of 
onr Lord, Himself, who said, " Without me 
you can do nothing." (1) Now, Beloved, 
it has always been asserted by those men in 
the Church who are most deeply learned 
in the things of God, that we cannot obtain 
God's grace without earnest prayer. There- 
fore, it is clear to us all, that, if we can do 
nothing without God's assistance, and if 
that assistance is not obtained without be- 
seeching God to grant it, then without 
prayer we cannot keep God's law. It is as 
if Christ had said, " Without me you can do 
nothing, and I will refuse you the aid nec- 
essary for you, successfully, to keep my law 
unless you ask for it." If we can make no 
serious effort at keeping the commandments 

1 Joan XV, 5. 



Prayer. 273 

without prayer, much less, Beloved, would 
we be able to persevere in their constant ob- 
servance without that same means for ob- 
taining aid. Perseverance is a gift that the 
Almighty owes no one; it is purely gratui- 
tous; given out of His benevolence and ten- 
der love for souls; hence it would be most un- 
reasonable to suppose that God, who is infi- 
nite intelligence, bestows such a favor indis- 
criminately upon those who pray for it, and 
those who utterly neglect to do so. There 
fore, prayer is strictly necessary in order to 
enter upon the observance of God's law, 
and it is more necessary in order to be con- 
stant in that observance. The experience 
of every one of us shows us unmistakably 
the necessity of prayer in order to serve 
God. Are not all our delinquencies trace - 
able to the neglect of prayer? Did not our 
carelessness concerning the regular recep- 
tion of the sacraments begin by the neglect 
of our morning or evening prayers? Did 
we become accustomed to regard the missing 
of Mass on Sundays as a trivial matter, un- 
til we had long before learned to ignore the 
necessity and obligation of saying our pray- 



274 Plai7i Sermons. 

ers? A serious inspection of the causes 
that led to our spiritual disorders, dearly 
Beloved, will always reveal neglect of 
prayer as the first and principal. 

Prayer is necessary in the second place, 
because God has commanded us to pray. 
" Seek ye the Lord and be strengthened," 
says the psalmist, "Seek His face ever- 
more." (1) " Watch ye and pray that ye 
enter not into temptation," (2) says 
Christ, and again, "Ask, and it shall be 
given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, 
and it shall be opened unto you." (3) The 
theologians of the Church have interpreted 
these sacred words as implying a command 
on the part of Christ. And the common 
teaching upon the matter is, that the neg- 
lect of prayer for any notable length of time 
implies mortal guilt. u Pray without ceas- 
ing," (4) writes St. Paul to the Thessa- 
lonians and to his beloved Timothy. U I 
will, therefore, that men pray in every place, 
lifting up pure hands without anger and 

1 Ps. civ, 4. 

2 Matt. XXVI, 41. 

3 Matt. VII, 7. 

4 Thess. 5, 17. 



Prayer. 275 

contention. " (1) Were there no other evi- 
dence, Beloved Brethren, of the necessity of 
prayer, save the fact onr Divine Master and 
His Apostles incnlcated it so very earnestly, 
this would be sufficient. Who of us doubts 
the truth of the great mystery of the Most 
Blessed Trinity? And yet why are we so 
thoroughly convinced that the God-head is 
one in essence and three in person? Simply 
because Jesus Christ has taught us this 
mysterious fact, and yet, Beloved, it is 
Christ more than any other who has taught 
us the necessity of prayer. Not only by 
formal precept has He insisted upon its nec- 
essity, but He has taught us by His own 
example. He prepared for His public min- 
istry by devoting years to a life of prayer, 
communing with His Heavenly Father and 
why? Was it because He labored under the 
necessity of praying for Himself? Surely 
not. He prayed to teach us, by example, 
the absolute necessity for us, of having re- 
course to God in earnest supplication. Nor 
did He confine His habits of praying to the 
years preceding His public life; "and it came 

1 1 Tim. II, 8. 



276 Plain Sermons, 

to pass that He (Christ) went out into a 
mountain to pray, and He passed the whole 
night in prayer of God; n (1) and we may 
conclude that this was not an extraordinary 
act on the part of Jesus, for when the be- 
trayer Judas directed the soldiers, whose 
mission it was to apprehend the Savior, the 
night before Calvary's dreadful tragedy, he 
did not lead them into the city of Jerusalem, 
but went rather to the Mount of Olives, be- 
cause the unfortunate wretch well knew that 
in the sombre shades of Gethsemane's 
garden the Master was wont to spend the 
night in prayer. Lifting up His eyes to 
heaven, He said: "Father, glorify thou 
me." (2) On this prayer the learned Jes- 
uit, Father Crasset, remarks; "Jesus prayed 
His Father to glorify His body. n "Now, 
was not this His due? And, indeed, had He 
not merited it? Was it possible that His 
supplication could be met with refusal? 
Why then did He ask it? Because the 
Father had decreed not to grant any favor 
to man, not even to His Divine Son, except 

1 Luke VI, 12. 

2 Joan XVII, 4. 



Prayer. 277 

through prayer, the channel through which 
all grace flows." (1) "Ask my Son," 
saith He, "for all the nations of the earth, 
and I will give them to Thee for thine own 
inheritance . " ( 2 ) Christ Jesus merited uni- 
versal empire, yet He came in to its pos- 
session only after asking for it. Even yet, as 
our great high priest, He continues, as St. 
Paul assures us, to intercede for us and so 
will continue till time shall be no more. It 
would require more time than is at our dis- 
posal to give many examples of how this 
precept was understood by the Saints. It 
suffices to say that they were without ex- 
ception men and women constantly united 
to God by prayer. That is what made them 
saints. They realized that upon the fulfil- 
ment of this precept depended their salva- 
tion. St. Paul w r as continuously conscious 
of his sin and consequent peril, and cried 
out beseechingly to God to keep him in His 
grace. The saints speak of themselves as 
of depraved sinners and fickle penitents. 
St. Philip Neri used to ask his brethren of 

1 Crasset, S. J., Med. 

2 Ps. II, 8, 



278 Plain Sermons, 

the Oratory to pray for him that he might 
not deny the faith and give great scandal. 
He nsed to say, "Lord, beware of me to-day, 
lest I should betray Thee and do Thee all 
the mischief in the world." Examples 
could be multiplied indefinitely, showing 
that the Saints prayed and prayed contin- 
ously, not only out of a holy desire of com- 
muning with God, but out of a firm un- 
swerving conviction of its necessity for the 
working out of their salvation. They well 
knew that there was never a time when on 
account of the possession of God's- grace, 
they could release themselves from the obli- 
gation of complying with the precept of 
prayer. Christ, the all-pure, who had no 
personal need of prayer, prayed to the end 
of His life. David, the man after God's 
own heart, fell from grace into adultery and 
murder. Peter, after protesting his willing- 
ness to die for Christ, went out and denied 
Him. Hence, the meaning of St. Paul's 
words to the Thessalonians, "Pray without 
ceasing. '* (1) 

Prayer rightly offered is never fruitless, 

1 Matt. VII, 8. 



Prayer. 279 

and for this we have the word of God, Him- 
self. What sweet assurance of the efficacy 
of our prayer is conveyed by the words of 
Christ, "Ask, and it shall be given to you; 
seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall 
be opened to you, for every one that asketh, 
receiveth, and he that seeketh, findeth, and 
to him that knocketh, it shall be opened." 
And again He declares that if we ask the 
Father anything in His name it shall be 
given us. What grounds have we then for 
confidence in prayer? The promise of God, 
Himself; what an incentive to lay open to 
Him our necessities, our tribulations; what 
assurance of obtaining His grace and mercy! 
Scripture is filled with instances of God's 
justice being averted through penitent sup- 
plication, instances of miraculous interven- 
tion of God's power in favor of His servants, 
who prayed to Him in their necessities. And 
the same may he said regarding the lives of 
God's saints. 

We read in the second book of Machabees 
that "When the Jews heard of Nicanor's 
coming, and that the nations were assem- 
bled against them, they cast earth upon their 



280 Plain Sermons. 

heads and made supplication to Him, who 
chose this people, to keep them forever, and 
who protected His portion by evident 
signs." (1) Jndas and they that were with 
him encountered them calling npon God by 
prayers. So fighting with their hands, but 
praying to the Lord with their hearts they 
slew no less than five and thirty thousand, 
being greatly cheered with the presence of 
God." (2) It is recorded in the Acts of 
the Apostles that " There was a great earth- 
quake and the foundations of the prison 
were shaken, the doors were opened and the 
bonds of all were loosed," as the result of 
the prayer of Paul and Silas. (3) "Paul 
entering the house of Publius whose father 
lay sick, prayed for him, laid his hands upon 
him, and the sick man was restored." (4) 
It was humble and constant prayer that 
caused Augustine, the victim of licentious- 
ness and impurity, to become Augustine 
the Saint and Doctor of the Church. The 
proud and ambitious Ignatius of Loyola, re- 

1 1 Mach. XIV, 15 

2 Mach. XV, 26, 27. 

3 Acts XVI, 26. 

4 Acts XXVIII, 8. 



Prayer. 281 

ceiving an inspiration from a little book of 
devotion, cast himself from his bed of sick- 
ness, offered an earnest prayer to God to 
make him a soldier of the Cross, and be- 
came one of the greatest Saints of modern 
times. God's promise cannot fail and He 
has given His word that He would both 
hear and grant our petitions. 

That prayer be efficacious, it is necessary 
that it be offered with devotion, with confi- 
dence, and we should pray perseveringly. 
Many are prone to doubt the efficacy of 
prayer who pray in such a manner, that 
God refuses to listen to them. Though it 
cannot be asserted that God refuses to hear 
those who are in a state of enmity with Him, 
yet it cannot be disputed that God leans 
more tenderly toward the prayer of those 
who love Him, by keeping His law. "Thou 
hast set a cloud before Thee, that our prayer 
may not pass through," we read in the 
Lamentations of Jeremias. (1) And the 
meaning of it is that the sins of the people 
caused God, as it were, to place a barrier be- 
tween Himself and them. Hence, we are 

1 I,a. Ill, 44. 



282 Plain Se? r vio?is. 

surer of God's ear when we are His friends, 
and it cannot be said that God made His 
promises to His enemies save those whose 
hearts are disposed to conversion. 

The manner of our prayer is a matter of 
serious importance. We should pray with 
reverence, realizing that we are addressing 
our Creator and Sovereign Lord. We 
should go into His presence fully convinced 
that we are unworthy to appear before Him, 
and utterly incapable of lifting our hearts to 
Him as we should. "You ask and receive 
not, because you ask amiss," says St. 
James. (1) Hence, our success in prayer 
depends upon the humility and reverence 
with which we approach the throne of Grace 
and Maj esty . ' l God resisteth the proud , " ( 2 ) 
and Scripture assures us that He is jealous 
of the respect which is due Him. We 
should therefore put aside all other thoughts, 
when we address ourselves to God, concen- 
trating our minds upon Him and not sim- 
ply praying to Him with our tongues, when 
our hearts are far from Him. 

1 James IV, 3. 

2 James IV, 6 



Prayer, 283 

We should pray with great trust. Many 
pray without fruit because their prayer is 
unaccompained with confidence. They ask 
of God with a doubt as to the success of 
their prayer. "All things whatsoever you 
ask in prayer believing, that you shall re- 
ceive." (1) We should go to God as chil- 
dren to an indulgent father, fully persuaded 
that we will be heard and the favors sought, 
granted. 

We should pray with perseverance. Al- 
though Almighty God has promised to hear 
our prayers, He has not promised to do so 
immediately. Sometimes to try our confi- 
dence, He defers answering our request and 
that even for a long time. He tests our al- 
legiance by subjecting us to this trial. 
Sometimes we ask favors that would really 
form obstacles in the way of our salvation. 
These, God in his mercy, never will grant, 
but if what we ask is conducive to our salva- 
tion, then God will surely grant the peti- 
tion, although He may in His wisdom, sub- 
mit us to a lengthy probation. St. Monica, 
the mother of St. Augustine, prayed perse- 

1 Matt. XXI, 22. 



284 Plain Sermons. 

veringly during eighteen years for the con- 
verson of her son, and God rewarded her 
noble confidence and perseverance, by mak- 
ing her son a greater Saint than she was 
herself. u In everything, by prayer and 
supplication with thanksgiving, let your pe- 
tition be made known to God . n ( 1 ) " There is 
no fear of you ever becoming troublesome 
or displeasing to God by the multiplicity of 
your requests, * * * all that is requisite is 
that they should be such as are worthy of 
being presented to God, and that therefore 
you should not ask Him for vain or wrong 
things. As to anything else never fear be- 
cause they are many or great, for great 
things are worthy of such a Sovereign. 
When Bethsabee had a request to make 
even to her own son, she was careful to say 
to King Solomon: "I desire one small pe- 
tition of thee . " ( 2 ) "But with God we need 
use no such precautions." (3) 

The necessity of prayer, Beloved, is then 
most obvious, since without it we would 

1 Philipp IV, 6. 
2, 3 Kings II, 20. 

3 Manna of the Soul, Segneri S. J. (Necessity of 
Prayer). 



Prayer, 285 

lack the supernatural help necessary for us 
to fight our way through the world of sin 
with all its insinuations, suggestions, al- 
lurements and temptations. The struggle 
for salvation is a tremendous battle. It is 
easier to conquer nations than to conquer 
ourselves, and render ourselves secure 
against the onslaughts of the world and the 
Devil. Alexander, the hero of antiquity, 
the most warlike spirit that Greek blood 
ever produced, was a victim to passion. Ju- 
lius Caesar, whose name filled the world, was 
a slave of vice. Napoleon, destroyer of 
armies, the subjugator of kingdoms, a man 
in whom was concentrated the greatest 
amount of power that was ever individual- 
ized in modern times, was enthralled by his 
own bad qualities. God's heroes are im- 
measurably nobler than the great ones of 
earth, their conquests are of an unquestion- 
ably higher order. Their victories reached 
to the very hearts and minds of men, and 
greater than all this they were masters of 
themselves. This latter fact explains their 
success in making captives for Christ's 
sake. They were, what they were, through 



286 Plain Sermons. 

a silent, persistent struggle against the re- 
bellious proclivities of the flesh, the allure- 
ments of the world, and the temptations of 
the Devil, their ever watchful adversary, 
and the weapon most in use during this war- 
fare was humble prayer. Beloved, how well 
we know from our experience, the necessity 
of prayer. We need but consider our oft- 
proven insufficiency, when left to our own 
resources in the face of strong temptation. 
Our duty is clear and unmistakable. "Pray 
without ceasing/' says the Apostle. 

Let us endeavor to peep into the abode of 
the damned. Consider the fact that never 
through all eternity, shall a single ray of 
hope penetrate the dreadful gloom of that 
dwelling-place of God's enemies. O the 
horror of it! They know that they have 
lost all that was worth living for and that 
their terrible mistake is irretrievable. Why 
are they there? More fundamentally than 
for any other reason, because they did not 
pray. u Ask, and you shall receive;" alas, 
with what hollow mockery do these words 
resound through the cavernous depths of 
hell. The time for asking is forever gone. 



Prayer. 287 

' ' Seek, and ye shall find." Yea, damned 
souls, seek forever and ever, but never shall 
ye find the slightest ground for hope. 
" Knock, and it shall be opened unto you." 
Alas! the portals of God's heart are closed 
to you forever, secured with the bolts of 
His justice and wrath. 

" Pray without ceasing." Yes, Beloved, 
beset on all sides as we are with snares, it is 
meet that we should always pray, not sim- 
ply in the morning and when retiring, but 
during the day, and most especially when 
the powers of hell conspire against us. 
"Pray without ceasing." 



THE NAME OF GOD. 

"Thou shalt not take the name of the L,ord thy God 
in vain." (1) 

What is in a name? Beloved, this is not 
an nnfamiliar question. We might answer 
it fittingly by saying that a name is largely 
a bubble of the world's transient glory — a 
bubble purchased most frequently by much 
sacrifice and labor. 

"Why mount the pillory of a book, 
Or barter comfort for a name." (2) 

Yet, Beloved, there is magic in a name, 
for it is the talisman which has stirred up all 
the world's ambitions. The most peculiarly 
proper attribute of a man is his name, 
because it indicates his whole personality, 
individualized, and as distinguished from 
every one else. When we hear the name of 
one who is known to us, there is not con- 
veyed to our mind the thought of the bare 
individual, but rather the individual with 
certain characteristics, which are (in a 

1 Exod. xx, 7. 

2 Whittier, To J. T. L. 

(288) 



The Name of God. 289 

sense at least), peculiar or special to him, 
and hence the greater or the more remark- 
able the individual, for one reason or 
another, the more full of suggestion is the 
mention of his name. The name of Alex- 
ander suggests the greatness of that con- 
queror, as it is crystallized in the names of 
Thermopylae, Thebes, Sardes and Halli- 
carnassus. Likewise, the name of Caesar 
floods the mind with recollections of the 
conquests of Gaul and Helvetia, with the 
names of the Rubicon and Pharsalia. And 
so the names of the great ones of this earth 
in philosophy, poetry or any other line of 
distinction, teem with - suggestion. The 
same is true of the names of those, who 
achieved distinction in the service of reli- 
gion. The names of Moses, Isaias, John the 
Baptist, Paul and Augustine need but be 
mentioned, to know the truth of what I 
have said. 

What shall we say of the name of God? 
Who shall recount the suggestions that fill 
the mind at His most blessed Name. The 
Creator of heaven and earth, the Sustainer 
of the universe, Infinite Majesty, Power, 



290 Plain Sermo?is. 

Goodness, Justice and Mercy. It is not 
marvelous, that one of His commandments 
deals with the reverence for His name, which 
He exacts under severe penalties, for no 
affront can be offered to that Name without 
an attack upon His Divine Person. We 
know from the pages of the Old Testament, 
that the Name of God was hedged 
about with mystery. " Moses said to 
God: Lo, I shall go to the children of 
Israel and say to them: The God of your 
fathers hath sent me to you. If they 
should say to me: What is His name? 
What shall I say to them? God said to 
Moses: I am Who Am. He said, Thus 
shalt thou say to the children of Israel: He 
Who Is hath sent me to you." (1) And 
when the name of Jehovah was revealed, 
such was the sacredness which surrounded 
it, that even upon the lips of the high 
priest, its pronunciation was limited. The 
patriarchs (strange as it may appear), never 
knew the name of God, because He pur- 
posely concealed it from them. "And the 
Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'I am the 

1 Exodus III, 13, 14, 



The Name of God. 291 

Lord that appeared to Abraham, to Isaac 
and to Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, 
and my name Adonai I did not shew them. 5 n 
(1) It seems most reasonable to conclude 
that the Almighty's motive in concealing 
from His saints, His Holy Name, was to 
encircle it with a mysterious sacredness, 
which would inspire the profoundest rever- 
ence. 

When God gives a name to a person it 
must have an altogether special signifi- 
cance, denoting principally the vocation of 
the individual. Hence the name of His 
Son must be filled with extraordinary mean- 
ing, and in order that the highest possible 
appreciation and reverence for that name 
might be realized, it was withheld for four 
thousand years from the knowledge of men. 
The prophets were eloquent in their vati- 
cinations concerning Christ and His name, 
yet they never pronounced the name itself. 
Holy Scripture declares the incomparable- 
ness of the name of Christ. "God * * * 
hath given him a name which is above all 

1 Ex. VI, 2, 3. 



292 Plain Sermons. 

names." (1) Though that name being 
the name of God is, in large measure, in- 
scrutable, yet for us it has the sweet signifi- 
cation o£ Savior, Redeemer. The angel 
said to Joseph, "Thou shalt call his name 
Jesus, for He shall save His people from 
their sins." (2) We know, too, the adorable- 
ness of that sacred name; for, as the In- 
spired Word tells us, u At the name of 
Jesus, every knee should bow, of those that 
are in heaven, on earth and under the 
earth. And that every tongue should con- 
fess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the 
glory of God, the Father." (3) 

Beloved, from these few reflections it 
would appear that the instinct of reverence 
and respect for the name of our Creator and 
Redeemer should be strongly emphasized in 
the Christian heart, and that this reverence 
should be expressed by marks of respect at 
the pronunciation of the name of God or of 
Jesus Christ, and by complete abstinence 
from any use of them that could suggest 
vain usurpation. The law which demands 

1 Ep. ad Philip, II, 9. 

2 Matt. I, 21. 

3 Ep. ad Philip, II, 10. 



The Name of God. 293 

reverence for the name of God, has the 
same sanction as those which prohibit mur- 
der and adultery. Since then the Al- 
mighty made the prohibition of the vain 
use of His name a distinct portion of His 
Decalogue, it is difficult to see how we can 
offend against this precept without incurring 
grave guilt and the Divine displeasure. 
Notwithstanding all this, however, there is 
no sin half so common amongst Christians, 
as that of the irreverent use of God's Holy 
Name. It is a sin that is confined to no 
particular class, for it is found abundantly 
among all. Nor is it restricted to any par- 
ticular period in the lives of men, for it is 
learned almost with the first articulate lisp- 
ings, and gray hairs are dishonored by it. 
You cannot walk the streets of the city 
without hearing God and Jesus Christ vainly 
invoked by the little fellow who can have 
no possible sense of what he says. The 
school-boy, with a somewhat developed ap- 
preciation of its guilt, becomes hardened in 
the habit of this sin, and the youth and 
man incorporate disrespect and contempt 
for God and Jesus Christ into their every- 



294 Plain Sermons. 

day conversation. The situation is not less 
than appalling. The worst feature of this 
state of affairs is that there is comparatively 
little public sentiment against this species 
of iniquity. There are certain phases of 
guilt, which men hide from one another 
through shame or some other motive, but to 
be a blasphemous or profane man, is not re- 
garded as a social disgrace, nor is such a 
one by virtue of his evil habit looked upon 
as un-Christian. This is due in great meas- 
ure to the fact, that at the present time the 
sense of reverence is seriously blunted. It 
cannot be maintained, it is true, that the 
mere utterance of the name of God in sur- 
prise or impatience constitutes of itself a 
mortal sin. But the person, who habitually 
uses God's name thus and makes no serious 
effort at correcting his vice, assuredly places 
himself in a state of constant opposition to 
a very clear Divine precept. The irreverent 
use of the same Holy Name, is for the most 
part, associated with anger and the invok- 
ing of God's maledictions upon the neigh- 
bor. These circumstances add a large 
measure of guilt and no doubt often drive 
the grace of God from the soul. 



The Name of God. 295 

There is less palliation for this species of 
sin than for most other infractions of Divine 
law. Men are forcibly impelled by passion 
to other sins, as for example, impurity, 
drunkenness or even theft, but there is no 
instinct of the human heart that impels a 
man to break the second commandment of 
the Decalogue, for the purpose of gratifying 
an unruly appetite. And though the sin 
under consideration is one with which we 
come into constant contact, on account (as 
I have already said) of its dreadful preva- 
lence, nevertheless, in the vast majority of 
cases, where it exists as a habit, it is the 
result of cultivation, or at least of the gross- 
est carelessness in the matter of guarding 
against it. There is always a peculiar hor- 
ror attaching to the profane use of the name 
of Jesus Christ on the part of a Catholic. 
He is taught most insistently to have the 
profoundest respect for this sacred name and 
to manifest this respect by external rever- 
ence, and so he has to do violence to his 
better instincts, and to trample upon many 
unforgetable lessons, before he comes to 
abuse the name which is above everv name. 



296 Plain Sermons. 

The taking of this name in vain has a most 
acute effect upon pious ears. It is like a 
shriek of murder in the silence of the night. 
It inflicts a wound upon the heart of a good 
Christian, who feels that the sacred human- 
ity of Christ and the blood that was spilled 
on Calvary, have been outraged. It is hard 
to believe that any one who will flippantly 
traduce the name of Jesus has much respect 
for His sacred person. The two things are 
not reconcilable. 

It is a common characteristic of the saints 
that they had not only the deepest rever- 
ence for the name of Jesus, but it was to 
them the source of constant sweetness, con- 
solation, help and joy. St. Bernard of Ci- 
teaux, writing upon the Holy name, says. 
"I know not whether you understand the 
wondrous effects of the name of Jesus, but 
to me, everything is dry and wearisome 
without this Divine name. A book in 
which I do not find the name of Jesus, has 
no interest for me; a sermon affords me no 
pleasure unless the name of Jesus is men- 
tioned in it. Jesus is sweetness to my 
mouth, music to my ears and a glad song 



The Name of God. 297 

to my spirit." (1) This rapture is not 
strange, Beloved, for Bernard well knew 
that the name of Jesus was the foundation 
of all his hope. He was well aware that 
the Divine Infant purchased that name by 
the shedding of His blood in infancy— the 
first fruits of His passion — indicating, so to 
speak, the absolute union of that name with 
the great oblation which was to be our sal- 
vation, for it is in that name, nay, solely by 
that name, that the merits of the Cross are 
applied to souls. How many of us have 
any serions notion of what the name of 
Jesus is to us? It is a shield against the 
darts of hell. When we are beset with 
temptation, when the battle waxes fierce 
and our minds cease to have a clear view 
of the right, and when evil is upon the 
point of triumphing over us, the name of 
Jesus will turn the tide, for it will infuse 
new strength, vigor, light and' hope, and 
its constant repetition will bring about that 
unspeakable tranquility and peace that fills 
the soul after temptation, fierce and insist- 
tent, has been successfully repelled. When 

1 Conference on the Holy Name. 



298 Plain Sermons. 

in the depths of desolation, which at times 
lies like a flood upon every human spirit, 
when all the light seems to have gone out, 
and the sense of our past sins tells us that 
mayhap we have forever lost God's favor 
and that our repentance was not genuine, 
then the name of Jesus will inspire new cour- 
age, for it will suggest infinite compassion 
and mercy, and it will recall to my mind 
that one of the reproaches which they cast 
upon him was, that he was the friend of 
sinners. I may have been the victim of 
another's injustice, I may have been cruelly 
wronged, humiliations may have been 
heaped upon me through a spirit of hatred 
or jealousy, and perhaps there is in my 
heart a spirit of revenge, which is nourished 
and strengthened by continual reflection 
upon my wrongs and greivances, and so, 
the suggestion steals into my soul that I 
right myself by some act of vengeance. Ah! 
then it is that the name of Jesus softens 
the hardness of my heart, as I think of Him, 
the willing victim of opprobruim, persecu- 
tion and even death, in the exercise of Di- 
vine charit}' and forgiveness. That name 



The Name of God. 299 

suggests a life, the contemplation of which 
makes it possible to observe that precept, 
which at first view impresses the human mind 
as something not only difficult but unreason- 
able. "Love your enemies, do good to them 
that hate you, and pray for them that perse- 
cute and calumniate you." (1) Perhaps 
some great grief has filled my soul, some 
terrible affliction that has broken my heart 
and whitened my hairs, and I am almost 
angry with God. The thought of the 
"Man of Sorrows," whose soul was sad- 
dened even unto death, whose grief would 
outweigh the grief of worlds, comes to my 
afflicted mind, and as I breathe His name in 
resignation, a peace like the restful hush at 
eventide settles sweetly upon my soul. 
Yes, Beloved, the sweet and sacred name of 
Jesus is everything to us, sweetness, con- 
solation, joy, hope, forgiveness, salvation. 
"For thy name's sake, thou wilt lead me 
and nourish me." (2) 

In order that these few reflections may be 
of some profit to us, Beloved, let us enter 

1 Matt. V, 44. 

2 Ps. XXX, 4. 



300 Plain Sermons. 

into ourselves with a view to finding out 
what offenses we have committed against 
the name of God and the name of Jesus, 
either by commission or neglect. Have we 
been unfortunate enough to contract the 
evil habit of pronouncing God's name irrev- 
erently by thoughtless exclamation, in 
anger or cursing those about us? Alas, a 
great many of us will have to plead guilty 
to one of these charges and some of us to 
all of them. Have we, furthermore, by our 
scandal, extended the spread of this sin 
through committing it before children or 
those under our care or authority? There is 
many a father who is responsible for count- 
less offenses of this character by his evil 
example. With what facility do children 
imitate parents in evil things, as well as in 
things good or indifferent! It is quite nat- 
ural and even unavoidable, for parents are 
the teachers provided for these little people 
by nature herself. 

And now as to the neglect of the Holy 
Name. If we look into the history of our 
grievous falls from grace, we will not find 
that we were ignomimously conquered by 



The Name of God. 301 

sin, whilst we were sincerely invoking the 
name of Jesus. We may remember, per- 
haps, of occasions whereon we called upon 
that name, when tempted, and yet fell vic- 
tims to the tempter. If that be so, then the 
invocation was merely mechanical, it was 
unworthy the name of prayer. There are 
souls who call upon God in the time of spir- 
itual combat, but whose wills are not in 
complete opposition with the gratification 
toward which the tempter impels them. The 
sincere invocation of the name of Jesus in the 
moment of struggle carries with it a guaran- 
tee of victory, else the Divine promises are 
made void. How often have we endeavored 
to procure help and consolation from crea- 
tures, when dejected by sadness and afflic- 
tion? Many of them are willing to give us 
what they can in the way of consolation and 
uplifting, but, alas, how poor they are them- 
selves, even the best endowed among them. 
It is the name of Jesus that is joy and con- 
solation to the saddened or afflicted heart. 

Let us, Beloved, have the deepest possible 
respect, both interior and exterior, for the 
name of God and the name of His Christ. 



302 Plain Sermons. 

Let us teach this respect to others by ex- 
ample, and (where our position allows it) 
by admonition and correction. Let us re- 
member, finally, that in every untoward cir- 
cumstance of life, the name of Jesus must 
be our refuge and help, " For there is no 
other name under heaven given to men, 
whereby we must be saved." (1) "Help 
us, O God, our Savior, and for the glory of 
thy name, O Lord, deliver us, and forgive us 
our sins for Thy name's sake." (2) 

1 Acts IV, 12. 

2 Ps. IvXXVIII, 9. 



THE PASSION. 

"And I said, 'Ah, Ah, Ah, Lord God, behold I cannot 
speak, for I am a child!' " — Jeremias I, 6. 

If the ancient seer of Israel, Jeremias., son 
of Helcias, could tlms address himself to the 
Almighty, when from the lips of the Lord 
he received his prophetic mission, with how 
much greater reason can I utter the same 
expressions as I stand here to-night with 
the task of preaching the sufferings and 
death of a God. Nevertheless, this task 
must be assayed, even though unworthily, 
since we were, indeed, poor followers of the 
Crucified if we allowed this dread commem- 
oration to go unheeded. 

It is a fact worthy of observation that, 
ordinarily, the mind is apt to consider 
only the physical aspect of our Savior's 
sufferings, when reflecting upon His* passion 
and death. .This partial view of the dreadful 
tragedy which closed the earthly life of the 
Master is most inadequate since, in all 
probability, the unspeakable agonies of soul 

(303) 



304 Plain Sermons. 

which Christ endured, were far keener and 
more dreadful than the scourging of His 
sacred flesh, the thorny crown-, or even, 
perhaps, the crucifixion itself. Hence, we 
will begin this meditation with the consid- 
eration of those sufferings of our Lord which 
were mental or spiritual. It is perfectly 
true that every physical injury has a mental 
effect in a conscious sufferer, and further, 
that physical pain has a value only in 
proportion to the power of realization in the 
individual who suffers, but here we do not 
consider the mental reflection of physical 
injury, or the mental distress associated 
with existing corporal affliction, but rather 
those agonies of mind which Christ endured 
before the infliction of any physical injury 
whatever upon His sacred Person. As Jesus 
entered the sombre shades of Gethsemane 
the night before His awful oblation, He 
began to be frightened and to fear. In that 
moment He dismissed the mighty supports 
of His divinity, so to speak, in order that He 
might abandon Himself to the immolation, 
and in one terrible flash His human spirit 
realized the awful proportions of His task. 



The Passion. 305 

Note well the fact that the soul of Christ, 
untouched by sin or coarseness, was most 
perfectly sensitive, hence, immeasurably 
more keenly alive to agony than the souls 
of other men. In that one flash He saw, 
with cruel accuracy, the ignominy of the 
mock trial in the house of Caiphas; He 
beheld Himself clad as a fool in the court 
of the execrable Herod; He experienced the 
degradation of His powder and majesty as, 
with prophetic ken, He felt the thorny 
crown, the weight of the cross and the 
unutterable consummation. Worse than all 
this was the realization that He was identified 
with the iniquity, the depravity, the pollution 
of the entire human family. He had agreed 
with the Eternal Father to assume the 
ragged garment of human nature, and with 
it the responsibility of every thought and 
word and deed of rebellion against Divine 
Majesty, and now, with a rigor fearful 
to contemplate, the Almighty holds the 
adorable object of His love to His dreadful 
compact. When the mantle of sin falls 
upon Christ's shoulders the Father with- 
draws Himself and leaves His Son the prey 



306 Plain Sermons. 

of an unspeakable agony and desolation 
of soul. The Lamb of God no longer 
recognizes Himself, as it were. He, the All 
Pure, is not only near to sin, but it is upon 
Him, nay, it seems to fill His every fibre. 
It is in His heart, which is rent with the 
passions of jealousy, hatred and lust. It is 
in His mind, which contemplates the most 
appalling, the vilest, the most blood-curdling 
scenes. It is in His soul, from which the 
sweet consciousness of His Father's presence 
has fled, and has left there a chaotic void — 
a horrible indifference to all that is good and 
holy. It is upon His lips, which utter 
blasphemies and maledictions. It is upon 
His hands, which are red with blood of ten 
thousand murders. It is upon His feet, 
which are walking recklessly into the haunts 
of sin. The fearful magnitude of the pun- 
ishment which awaits Him as THE sinner 
of the world, appals Him beyond description, 
and (perhaps worse than all) as His mind 
travels with lightning speed down the ages, 
He beholds that the sacrifice He is about to 
offer amid most ghastly circumstances for 
the souls of men, will be futile for thousands 



The Passion. 307 

upon thousands. He beholds men maddened 
with passion and frenzy shedding each 
others' s blood, and abandoning themselves 
to every species of gross and unlawful 
gratification. He beholds them not only 
treating His Church and her laws with 
sneers and indifference, but actually vilifying 
His own sacred character, and endeavoring 
to wipe from the face of the earth every 
vestige of His benign influence. 

Torn and racked by these horrible visions 
His heart faints; He feels (if I may dare 
speak the word) that the work is of too 
stupendous a character for His performance 
and conquered by fear and anguish, He cries 
out in supplication to His Heavenly Father 
that the chalice pass away. The support of 
the divinity (as I have remarked) in some 
sense had been removed, and the poor, 
human soul left to itself was utterly crushed 
by the awful weight, and such was the 
excruciating distress of His spirit, that the 
consequent wild fluttering of His sacred 
heart beating against His bosom caused the 
ruby tide of His blood to break through the 
veins that imprisoned it in its wild flight, 



308 Plain Sermons. 

and lo, it stood in great purple drops upon 
His brow and ran adown His sacred Person. 
Ah, Beloved, who will convey, even most 
inadequately, a notion of the suffering of 
that awful moment? What physical pain, 
even of the acutest sort, will bear comparison 
with that commingling of fright, anguish 
and heart-break? 

The collapse of Jesus in the face of it all 
was but momentary. " Father, if it be 
possible, let this chalice pass from me." 
But this cry is quickly succeeded by the 
triumph of infinite charity and sublimest 
obedience, "My Father, if this chalice may 
not pass away, but I must drink it, Thy will 
be done," (1) and stretching wide His arms 
He took into His embrace every detail of 
that most awful of ordeals. There in the 
dark wooded depths of Gethsemane's garden, 
in silence and solitude i He abandoned Him- 
self without reserve to the most dreadful 
agonies of soul. Alone, for He had left His 
Apostles apart, bidding them to watch while 
He penetrated the inner gloom to suffer and 
to pray, and yet He was not alone, for the 

1 Matt. XXVI, 39, 42. 



The Passion. 309 

sins of the world were around Him. His, 
Beloved, was an absolutely vivid appreciation 
of all tlie horrible deformity and vileness of 
sin, a perfect sense of the insult that sin 
conveys to that Father Whom He loved with 
a love ineffable, and a flawless vision of all 
the ravages that sin had wrought upon the 
souls whom He had come to snatch from the 
jaws of hell. " My soul is sorrowful even 
unto death." (1) Ah, Beloved, what a world 
of preaching is conveyed in those words 
which fell from the lips of Jesus in the shades 
of the olive grove! Marvelous, indeed, the 
fact that so many who belong to the house- 
hold of the faith are so slightly impressed 
with the mental phase of Christ's sufferings. 
The dramatic features of the Passion (and 
I speak with reverence), take forcible hold 
on the body of the faithful, who easily 
gather about the cross and gaze up with 
sentiments of contrition into the face of the 
dying Savior, but for the most part the 
broken heart of Christ and His agonized 
soul are but slightly appreciated. 

Let us follow Him now through the rest 

1 Matt. XXVI, 38. 



310 Plaiyi Sermons. 

of the dreadful ordeal. The traitor betrays 
Him. Gaze upon that execrable wretch as 
he sounds the lowest depths of depravity by 
imprinting a kiss upon the face of his victim, 
as though he would express in clearest 
possible fashion the contempt in which he 
held Jesus' love. The infamy of that act 
receives its immediate counterpoise in the 
sublime charity of the Redeemer. "Friend," 
says He to the Iscariot, " whereto art thou 
come? ' ' (1) And so He is bound and led away 
to stand before His own creatures, who are 
to do judgment upon Him. Note well that 
in the face of personal danger the fidelity of 
the apostolic college collapses like a house 
of cards — for those who had been His daily 
companions and the objects of His special 
solicitude, fled precipitously under cover of 
night, and deserted Him most miserably. 
Bven poor, broken-hearted Peter, who gave 
some sign of lasting fidelity in the moment 
of trial furnishes the most contemptible 
evidence of treason, by swearing that he 
knew not the Man. The mind is over- 
whelmed by this general defection, for He 

1 Matt. XXVI, 50. 



The Passion. 311 

chose these men from amongst thousands, 
and He lavished upon them spiritual gifts of 
a very high order. He gave them dominion 
over the spirits of evil, and their hands had 
wrought miracles, and yet with a suddenness 
which is startling they were guilty of a most 
wretched desertion. What a terrible object- 
lesson in the fickleness and weakness of the 
human heart. 

From court to court He is conducted^ 
while mere worms of the earth hold Him up 
to the contempt of the rabble, and finally , 
condemn Him to an ignominious death. The 
voices which but a short time since had 
acclaimed Him a Prophet and had sung 
hosannas in His honor, now shrieked madly 
for His blood. Look upon Him as they tie 
Him to a pillar and lash His sacred Person! 
What fiendish enthusiasm characterizes the 
work of those monsters! See how His sacred 
blood flies about the place. There is blood 
upon the walls, nay, it flecks the faces and 
garments of those who stand about drinking 
in this revolting spectacle. There is blood 
upon the hands and arms of those who 
execute this awful infliction upon His tender, 



312 Plain Sermons. 

quivering flesh, and behold, He stands in a 
pool that purples the stones of the praeto- 
rium. Look, Christians, upon your God, 
the innocent victim of a ribald soldiery. 
Crowned with thorns, clad as a fool, and 
holding in His hands a reed in lieu of the 
sceptre of Infinite power, He permits His 
Majesty to be dragged down into the very 
mire. Look again, the scene is changed. 
The sentence of death has been uttered by 
the pusillanimous Pilate, and amid the howls 
and jeers of a blood-thirsty multitude the 
Redeemer takes up the tree of ignominy 
and starts on the journey towards Golgotha. 
In order that He might not allow to pass 
any opportunity of drinking to its dregs 
the cup of bitterness for our poor sakes, He 
allows Himself the agony of a meeting with 
His blessed Mother on His way to death. 
It would seem almost irreverent to expand 
upon that meeting. The Son and the 
Mother, as far as we know, spoke but in 
glances, but needless to add the eyes of both 
were eloquent with anguish, with tenderness 
and with love. The awful consummation 
is at last a fact. Lifted up in nakedness, 



The Passion. 313 

stretched upon the cross, the Messias is 
slowly dying. The dread sacrifice which is 
to reopen Paradise to sinners is nearing 
completion. Hearken to the dripping blood 
of a dying God. Note the agony depicted 
upon that wan and bloodless face, attend 
well to that outcry which denoted the 
supremest moment of His passion, when 
deserted even by His Father, He cries out 
with heartrending plaint, "Deus meus, 
Deus meus, ut quid dereliquisti me?" "My 
God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken 
me?" (1) A victim of the acutest pain ever 
inflicted upon a human body , a victim of a 
broken heart, Jesus Christ bows His head 
and dies. 

Beloved, one of the dangers to be avoided 
in meditating upon the passion of our 
blessed Savior is that of taking simply an 
objective view of those awful sufferings. 
That is to say, on account of the terrible 
details and circumstances with which we 
come in contact from the time we go into 
the garden until we find ourselves gazing 
up into the face of the dead Christ, we are 

1 Matt. XXVII, 46. 



814 Plain Sermons, 

apt simply to be impressed with that won- 
derful picture without learning well the 
lesson which such a contemplation should 
convey to our souls. Unless I realize at 
least in some sort of fashion that my sins 
were in a measure responsible for the agony 
in Gethsemane, the cruel scourging, the 
thorny crown, and the bloody death upon 
Calvary's altar, then I have in no sense 
learned the lesson of the Passion. Unless I 
perceive the necessity of penance for my 
infidelities, of mortification of my body, as 
I hear the lash descending upon the 
shoulders of the Lamb of God, then the 
scourging at the pillar is meaningless for 
me. Unless I learn the necessity of chas- 
tening my proud spirit by the practice of 
humility, then the crown of degradation 
which wounded the brow of my Redeemer 
has no signification for me. Unless the 
struggles of Jesus, as He bends and falls 
beneath the cross, teach me patience and 
resignation; unless the awful consummation 
on the hill of Golgotha teaches me, so far 
as my little mind can know, the value of 
my soul, the fathomless depths of Christ's 



The Passion. 315 

charity, and the mystery of divine conde- 
scension, then I have missed the central 
idea of it all, and I have no part in Christ, 
I am, indeed, without the fold. 

It is not to be marveled* at that the saints 
famished more and more for self-immolation 
as they advanced in the knowledge of the 
sufferings of Christ. Their apparent extrav- 
agances in the matter of personal penance 
were only mild expressions of their appre- 
ciation of the Savior's passion. Though we 
may not all expect, personally, to realize 
the ardor and the transports of the saints, 
yet may the result of our prayer and 
adoration to-night be the fulfillment of 
that which the Lord declares a necessary 
condition for discipleship: "If any man 
wishes to come after Me, let him deny 
himself, take up his cross and follow Me. " (1) 
We are struck with horror at the thought of 
that demand for Christ's blood on the part 
of the frenzied multitude. But, alas, our 
own mortal sins imply greater infidelity; for 
the poor wretches who cried out, "Let Him 
be crucified," for the most part acted in 

1 Matt. XVI, 24. 



316 Plain Sermons. 

blind obedience to their leaders, and few of 
them, if any, really believed Him to be the 
Son of God and Israel's Savior; but we who 
know Him by faith, and who desert Him for 
the husks of sin, cry out with immeasurably 
more malice, "Let Him be crucified, away 
with Him." 

By our mortal guilt we sympathize with 
every detail of that awful tragedy, nay, 
more, according to the word of the blessed 
Paul we endeavor by each new iniquity to 
re-enact its horrible scenes. Hence, if the 
guilt of but one mortal sin has polluted the 
sanctuary of my soul, I have all-sufficient 
reason to lie prostrate in the dust at the foot 
of the cross with a broken heart. But alas, 
my God, my iniquities are without number, 
save upon Thy dreadful records, and but 
that I am forbidden to cast sweet hope aside, 
I should plunge madly into the gulf of 
despair. The still, cold face of my dead 
Redeemer is at once my most harrowing 
accuser and my only hope. As I stand in 
the gloom at the foot of the cross I feel that 
my hands are red with His blood, and that 
I have done that dreadful murder, and yet 



The Passion. 317 

divine mercy teaches me that the flowing of 
that blood affords my only chance of life. 

With these few thoughts let lis be silent 
and hearken to the words which Jesus shall 
address to our sorrowful souls, as we kneel 
here to-night in devout contemplation of the 
dread sacrifice which we now commemorate. 
Finally, let us beg the Crucified to warm our 
poor, cold hearts with an ardor of perfect 
contrition for our sins and firm resolve for 
future fidelity. 



THE MISERY OF A LIFE OF SIN. 

"You are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your 
father you will do. He was a murderer from the begin- 
ning. " * * * Amen, amen, I say to you, if any man 
keep my word, he shall not see death forever.' ' (1) 

Beloved, it is narrated in the life of St. 
Francis Borgia, one of the first generals of 
the Society of Jesns, that as Duke Gandia, 
he was obliged to identify the body of the 
deceased Empress Isabel of Spain. She 
had been a woman of rare physical charm, 
noted throughout Europe for her stateliness 
and beauty. So loathsome a mass of cor- 
ruption had she become in death, that 
Francis was impressed beyond words, and 
he learned at once the lesson taught by the 
decayed remains of royalty, namely, that it 
was foolish, indeed, to serve a perishable 
master. 

This incident suggests the leprosy that 
sin spreads over the beauty of the Chris- 
tian soul, and the misery of those whose 
spiritual lives are affected with that horri- 

1 Joan VIII, 44. 

(318) 



The Misery of a Life of Sin. 319 

ble malady. It seems well to begin our 
study of the wretchedness of a sinful life by 
contrasting it with the state of a soul 
adorned by the beauty of God's grace. What; 
is the state of grace? Beloved, no better 
answer to this question was ever framed 
than that which fell from the lips of Jesus 
Christ. "If any man love Me, he will keep 
my word, and my Father will love him, and 
We will come and make Our abode with 
him." (1) The soul then in the state of 
grace is, first of all, an object of special com- 
placency and love to Almighty God. If it is 
worth while for us to strive for the love of 
our neighbors and kinsfolk (and none will 
deny the propriety of this, under proper 
conditions and within certain limits), what 
shall we say of the excellence of striving af- 
ter the especial love of God? When the Al- 
mighty looks upon the soul in grace, He 
beholds not only His image, but that image 
illuminated by a light from His own Divine 
countenance, and warmed by His own Di- 
vine love; nay, He sees there the conquest 
and glory of His Son's precious blood, and so 

1 Joan XIV, 23, 



320 Plain Sermons. 

loves that soul with unspeakable tenderness, 
and He yearns to possess it in His bosom 
forever. The soul, in turn, stands not in 
relation to God, simply as creature to Crea- 
tor, but really and truly possesses the 
friendship of God. Marvelous condescen- 
sion of Divine power, that He should ex- 
tend the hand of fellowship and friendship 
to a poor little creature. Yet, such is in- 
deed the fact, "If any man love me, * * 
my Father will love him." The soul then 
is united to God by grace in an altogether 
special relation from which the might, 
the justice and the majesty of the Divinity 
are, so to speak, eliminated, for that rela- 
tion subsists on love. There is something 
further contained in those wonderful words 
of the Savior, namely, that the soul in 
grace is the dwelling-house of the Blessed 
Trinity. "We will come and make Our 
abode with him." It becomes the most 
chosen of temples then, for the indwelling 
of the Triune God. It becomes in very 
truth the holy place; it becomes the shelter 
of Infinite majesty, power, goodness, love. 
O wondrous triumph of mercy, O marvel- 



The Misery of a Life of Sin. 321 

ous dignity of man's poor, weak spirit! 
Surely, therefore, grace gives into man's 
having and holding, all that savors of real 
felicity here, and the only possible title to a 
union with God forever. 

Let us now turn from this picture of sur- 
passing loveliness to study, in some little 
detail, the deformity and misery of the soul 
without sanctifying grace. First of all, sin 
disrupts all friendly relations with God. "I 
know ye not. Ye are of your father, the 
devil." The light has gone out in the 
soul — it is now an abode of darkness. The 
warmth of Divine love is succeeded by the 
chill of spiritual death. Where Father, 
Son and Spirit sat enshrined, there sits a 
monster of horrible mein. Where the odor 
of sanctity and the perfume of virtue made 
all things sweet, that place is now per- 
meated with the stench of corruption. There 
still is vitality, but it is like that of the 
crawling things of night, it knows no light 
nor warmth. Look at the wretch who carries 
about this affliction -laden spirit. He is the 
accursed of God. "If thou wilt not hear 
the voice of the Lord thy God to keep and 



322 Plain Sermons. 

do all His commandments * * * all these 
curses shall come upon thee and overtake 
thee. Cursed shalt thou be in the city, 
cursed in the field. * * * Cursed shall be 
the fruit of thy womb. Cursed shalt thou be 
coming in, and cursed going out. The 
Lord give thee dust for rain upon thy land 
and let ashes come down from heaven upon 
thee till thou be consumed. And all these 
curses shall come upon thee and shall pur- 
sue and overtake thee, till thou perish, be- 
cause thou heardst not the voice of the Lord 
thy God and didst not keep His command- 
ments." (1) Beloved, what a picture of 
horror do these inspired words convey to the 
mind, and yet what I have quoted to you is 
but a small fraction of all those maledictions 
which God sends down upon those who 
offend against His laws. It would almost 
seem as if the bowels of His mercy were 
closed beyond hope to the transgressor: "Be 
the heaven that is over thee of brass." 
Hearken, O guilty soul, to the sentence of 
the Most High against thee. Sift deprives 
the soul of every gift that grace brought to 

1 Deut. XXVIII. 



The Misery of a Life of Sin. 323 

it; it strips the soul of everything which 
might in any way entitle it to merciful con- 
sideration on the part of God, When grace 
possessed the soul, the soul was enabled to 
earn more and more of the Divine favor; it 
could make its every act something, entitling 
it to more of God's love, to further beauty 
and embellishment, but sin paralyzes all 
the soul's energies, and not only does it 
deprive the soul of all its past merits, but 
renders it incapable of meriting; it desttx^s 
its power. This monster reduces the soul 
to a condition of the most abject servitude. 
It was freed by Christ's redemption, bought 
from thraldom by the sacred blood that ran 
adown the wood on Golgotha's hill, but it 
has voluntarily yielded up that liberty, 
bought at so great a price, in exchange for 
the husks of evil. Sin not only robs the 
soul of this precious freedom, but it robs it 
of peace. Remorse and the fear of Divine 
wrath pursue the sinner. In his dreams he 
sees the writing on the wall that appalled 
the wicked soul of Baltassar, and when tor- 
tured by the pains of pl^sical ill, the sin- 
ner's heart sinks within him as he thinks 



324 Plain Sermons. 

of death's awful meaning. In silence and 
solitude conscience wakes in the night and 
lays the sinner's life open like a book. 
And Oh, how recollections pursue him like 
blood-hounds on the scent, and for him there 
is no peace the while he prefers the disposi- 
tions of enmity with God, to the consolations 
of true repentance. It is true that sinners 
seem a happy lot as we observe them and 
come into contact with them, but this seem- 
ing results from the fact that we meet them 
when their attention is distracted from their 
spiritual diseases. The sinner at times 
fancies himself in the possession of hap- 
piness, but only when under the spell of 
passion, which is the fruitful mother of 
self-deceptions. Our passions are like 
giants. They overleap all the aspirations 
and resolves of our better and quieter nature. 
They drive madly towards some wild issue 
that lives only in their frenzy. How little 
account does passion take of goodness. 
When in its fury it sweeps over the heart of 
man, all appreciation of God's service and 
self-government fade into nothingness like 
the soft haze upon a spring landscape driven 
westward by a sea-born storm. 



The Misery of a Life of Sin. 325 

There is a certain phenomenon in the 
sinner's life that is mistaken for peace. It 
is that dark quiet which settles down upon 
his soul when conscience has been so 
effectually stifled that its voice is rarely 
heard, and its appeal, when heard, is very 
feeble. This is the last stage of the sinner's 
career previous to damnation. He is then 
without light, without aspiration, without 
any desire for any thing better than sin. 

"Some, the degraded slaves of lust, 
Prostrate and trampled in the dust, 
Shall rise no more." (1) 

Yes, the sinner fancies himself in peace 
after he has conquered conscience, success- 
fully repelled grace, and gone down into the 
depths of iniquity. What is the nature 
of that seeming peace? "I will harden 
Pharao's heart * * * and he will not hear 
you , ' ' saith the Lord to Moses . Light and 
opportunity had been given in abundance to 
the Egyptian monarch, that he might know 
and obey the command of the Almighty 
concerning Israel. Persisting in his opposi- 
tion to the ' Divine Will, however, Pharao 

1. Coplas de Manrique, Longfellow's Transl. 



326 Plain Sermons. 

refused to comply and then the grace of 
repentance was withdrawn. U I will harden 
his heart and he will not hear you. " (1) It is 
a peace like the slumber of a tired wayfarer 
who sinks exhausted upon a mossy bank to 
sleep, the while a poisonous adder hovers 
by, to sink his venomous fangs into the 
slumberer's cheek, or like the lethargy of 
an inebriate voyager, w T ho sleeps soundly 
on, all unconscious of the horrors of an 
impending wreck that will consign him to 
the abyss of the sea. Yes, Beloved, the 
sinner's peace is like to that ominous calm 
which, according to the proverb, presages 
the most violent storm, for the end of that 
peace is a dreadful awakening amid the 
horrors of hell. 

Our blessed Lord touchingly sets forth 
the misery of a life of sin in the parable of 
the prodigal son. "A certain man had two 
sons. And the younger of them said to his 
father, 'Father, give me the portion of the 
substance that falleth to me.' And he 
divided unto them his substance . And not 
many days after the younger son, gathering 

l. Ex. Ill, 21. 



The Misery of a Life of Sin, 327 

all together, went abroad into a far country, 
and there wasted his substance living riot- 
ously. And after he had sp'ent all there 
came a mighty famine in that country and 
he began to be in want, and he went and 
cleaved to one of the citizens of that country, 
and he sent him into his farm to feed swine. 
And he would fain have filled his belly with 
the husks the swine did eat, and no man 
gave unto him." (1) Beloved, there is a 
world of pathos in that dreadful story, but it 
carries with it no surprises. Any man of 
even slight experience knows something of 
what follows in the wake of sin. "He began 
to be in want." He had tried every means 
of gratification, he had listened to the 
prompting of every evil desire, and after he 
had run through the whole gamut of sin, he 
began to know that he was poor indeed, and 
that all his satisfactions ended in bitterness. 
Some one has beautifully said: "We never 
know how deep our hearts are till we try 
to fill them with the world." (2) How 
true is this remarkable saying, and how 

1 Luke xv. 

2 Father Clifford "Introibo." 



328 Plai?i Sermons, 

poignantly did the poor prodigal realize it. 
So thoroughly saturated with guilt was he, 
however, so successfully had he shut out the 
light of grace from his soul, that though he 
recognized his need he sought help of 
creatures and was rewarded by further deg- 
radation. He sought relief by sounding the 
very depths of human depravity. He felt 
that by casting aside everything that could 
remind him of his former self, by giving 
himself over wildly to every species of low 
gratification; by "filling his belly with the 
husks the swine did eat," some sort of 
quietude or satisfaction should fill his soul. 
The results of his iniquitous course represent 
three things, want, degradation and infamy. 
We have used thus far only one portion of 
the parable, since the theme of our present 
reflections is the wretchedness of the sinner's 
lot, and in simple yet most striking fashion 
the Savior of sinners sets forth that wretched- 
ness. 

An inspection of the nature of sin makes 
it perfectly clear to the mind that the soul 
who opens her gates to the monster and 
persistently allows it to dwell within her 



, The Misery of a Life of Sin. 329 

sanctuary, must of necessity be the most 
miserable being outside of hell. We have 
seen in our meditation on sin that it is the 
onty evil, the parent and origin of all that 
the world looks upon as evil; that it implies 
rebellion against God, the blackest ingrati- 
tude to His goodness and mercy, and finally 
the destruction, voluntary and knowing 
destruction, of the effects of Christ's immo- 
lation in our souls. The man who gives 
himself up to a sinful life, therefore, sep- 
arates himself from all that can afford him 
any true happiness in this life, and allying 
himself to the source of all wretchedness 
and misery, must necessarily experience 
both. "Can a man hide fire in his bosom 
and not burn?" asks the Inspired Word, 
"Or can he walk upon hot coals and his feet 
not be burnt?" (1) How can we, under 
any circumstances, imagine that soul peace- 
ful which is the dwelling-house of blasphemy 
and maledictions, desecration of the Lord's 
Day, scandal, impurity, injustice, perhaps 
murder, a soul which is the hiding-place 
of lustful and revengeful desires? What 

1 Proverbs VI, 27, 28. 



330 Plain Sermons. 

suggestion of happiness can exist where 
flourishes the memory of the broken vow, 
warnings despised, opportunities neglected 
and lights quenched? Can the canker of 
remorse bring rest? Can the anguish of 
shame or the appalling sickness of despair 
give joy? What burden is heavier, think 
you, than a sin-laden conscience? It should 
not be a matter of great wonder that crim- 
inals, whose guilt lay buried in the depths 
of their hearts, have delivered themselves 
over to justice, not being able to support 
the intolerable weight of sin. How many 
of the suicides that are recorded in the daily 
journals are the results of the inability 
further to sustain the misery of sinful lives? 
Though Christ holds up to our gaze a 
dreadful picture of the sinner's state, yet, 
Beloved, He does not leave us disconsolate, 
for immediately after showing us that sin 
can carry us to the last point of degradation, 
He teaches us a lesson in Divine mercy and 
compassion. The prodigal, yielding to a 
signal grace that came to him in the midst 
of his infamy, said: U I will arise and will 
go to my father and say to him: ' Father, I 



The Misery of a Life of Sin. 331 

have sinned against heaven and before thee, 
I am not worthy to be called thy son, make 
me as one of thy hired servants.' n How 
was he received when in the fnlfillment of 
his resolution he returned to the paternal 
roof? The gospel narrative, Beloved, tells 
us "that his father beheld him from afar, 
was moved with compassion, and running 
to him fell upon his neck and kissed him." 
And he received him back to his bosom, 
cleansed him of his filthiness, and put fine 
vesture upon him, a ring upon his hand and 
shoes upon his feet" (1) It is difficult to read 
this narrative without emotion, and there is 
no portion of the Word of God that shows 
forth with more striking tenderness the 
compassion of God for sinners. Why the 
great rejoicing and festivity on the return 
of the prodigal? Because the son that was 
dead is come to life again; he was lost and 
is found. And so though God withdraws 
Himself, as it were, from the persistent sin- 
ner, and leaves him in the slough of his 
misery, yet with Infinite patience He awaits 
1 Luke xv. 



332 Plain Sermons. 

a sign from that unhappy soul, in order 
that He may satisfy the promptings of His 
mercy. 

Beloved, if upon examination we find that 
our lives are drifting towards chronic sinful- 
ness, let us be terrified by the contemplation 
of the sinner's misery. Let Us dwell upon 
the lamentable picture which our Savior 
draws for us. Be convinced that no exag- 
geration proceeds from the mouth of Divine 
Truth. Secure yourselves against this 
dreadful plight by the constant use of those 
means of forgiveness and sanctification 
which, through God's mercy, are always 
ready and at hand in the Church. If there 
be some among you who, alas, are estranged 
from God and His law by iniquitous lives, 
to these I would say, if you have imitated 
the prodigal in his sin, imitate him now in 
his response to that inspiration of grace, 
which, perhaps, was the last which God 
would have accorded him in his 'wickedness. 
Mayhap some one among you is receiving 
the last call from sin to grace. What dire 
consequences will follow its rejection! Say 
with the prodigal, "I will rise up and go to 



The Misery of a Life of Sin . 333 

my Father/' I will return to the embrace of 
Infinite compassion. With a heart broken 
with grief for my iniquities, I shall seek the 
fountains of mercy and strength. 

"The eternal life beyond the sky 
Wealth cannot purchase, nor the high 

And proud estate 
The soul in dalliance laid, the spirit 
Corrupt with sin, shall not inherit 

A joy so great." (1; 

1. Coplas de Manrique. 



RELIGION AND THE FAMILY. 

"The father of the just rejoiceth greatly; he that hath 
begotten a wise son shall have joy in him. Let thy father 
and thy mother be joyful, let her rejoice that bore thee. * * * 
Who shall find a valiant woman? Far and from the utter- 
most coasts is the price of her. The heart of her husband 
trusteth in her. * * * Her husband is honorable. * * * Her 
children rose up and called her blessed." (1) 

A superficial knowledge of the literature 
of the Roman people is quite sufficient to 
convince one of how the Roman mind 
emphasized the necessity of union between 
the altar and the home. "For our altars 
and our hearthstones" (2) was their battle- 
cry. Cicero, addressing his countrymen on 
the subject of civic duty, particularly 
accentuates their obligations to religiqn and 
the domestic hearth, declaring unmistakably 
that the success of the state was founded 
upon normal family life, in which religion is 
an essential feature. (3) Though the religion 
in which the Romans believed was idolatry, 

1 Prov. XXIII, 24, 25; XXXI, 10, 11, 23, 28. 

2 "Pro aris et focis." 

3 "De conjugibus et liberis vestris, de aris et de focis 

vestris discernite." — De offic. 

(334) 



Religion and the Family. 335 

yet their insistence upon its place in domes- 
tic life was insistence upon a principle 
unquestionably true, for religion is the 
foundation-stone of family life rightly 
understood. Paganism did not teach them 
this principle." It was a natural heritage 
which came down to them from the begin- 
ning, and though corroded by error and 
superstition, it conveyed with sufficient 
clearness the popular conviction that the 
family in its normal state was impossible 
without the supernatural. 

One of the great preachers of the last 
century, Father Agastino da Montefeltro, 
in a beautiful discourse upon the relation 
between the domestic life and religion, says: 
" There is one institution peculiar to hu- 
manity which, after religion, is certainly 
the dearest and sweetest and most fascin- 
ating of all. I mean Family Life." No 
serious mind will gainsay this proposition, 
for the properly constituted family is the 
source and cause of by far the larger portion 
of human happiness. Family life deals 
with all that is sweetest, tenderest and 



336 Plain Sermons, 

purest in the human heart and soul, and in 
it are cradled the greatness and the nobility 
of the race. 

The foundation of the family life cannot 
be that subtle, mysterious force called love, 
which draws two souls together, souls that 
hunger for each other, and who feel by some 
overmastering impulse that life's happiness 
will reveal itself only in their union with 
one another. No, Beloved, this mysterious 
something may be, and for the most part is, 
the efficient cause of marriage, which in 
turn is the physical cause of the family, 
but family life, the domestic relation, is 
something quite distinct from the procreation 
of children. The brutes increase and mul- 
tiply, yet they have no family life. That 
life is a result of something apart from the 
animal in man. It answers to a higher 
demand of his nature. As the family rela- 
tion is something which sharply distin- 
guishes the human race from all the rest of 
the animal kingdom, so its foundation must 
be sought in something in man which differ- 
entiates him from every other being endowed 
with organic life, and that something is his 



Religion and the Family. 337 

rational and immortal soul. The love of 
the human heart, in its natural condition, 
is the real foundation of family life, some 
one may contend. It exercises itself first in 
selection, from which marriage results, and 
then it loves the fruit of that marriage with 
undying attachment, which holds the various 
members of the family together. Not so, 
Beloved, for though the love of a mother's 
heart for her offspring depends not upon 
religion, that attraction which is generally 
the cause of marriage carries with it no 
guarantee of permanency, but (as experience 
amply demonstrates) is often exposed to the 
withering blight of inconstancy; yet family 
life strictly requires that the love between 
husband and wife be both intense and lasting, 
for its decay and death rob the domestic 
relation of an essential feature. A mother's 
love for her young, no matter how anxious 
and tender, is no sufficient foundation for 
the family. 

So long as the love of the human heart 
which draws souls together in marriage 
remains a merely natural sentiment, it can 
never be the foundation of the home, but it 



338 Plain Scr??ions. 

becomes that foundation when it is sanctified 
and elevated by religion, which is the 
directing and preserving influence of the 
entire domestic life. 

Let us briefly look at the function which 
religion exercises in the family. When two 
young hearts are attracted towards each 
other, religion does not look on as an 
uninterested spectator. She rather admon- 
ishes them of the necessity of wise selection, 
insisting that they endeavor by every prudent 
means to find out whether their mutual 
attachment gives promise of success in 
bearing the burdens and responsibilities of 
married life together. It impresses upon 
their minds the sanctity and greatness of 
the marriage contract, and it teaches them 
that it is, therefore, something not to be 
entered into rashly or without most serious 
consideration. Religion teaches the man 
and woman that neither will find perfect 
satisfaction in the other, by reason of the 
faults and frailties of each. It will insist 
that they regard themselves not as each 
other's judges, but as help-mates, one for 
the other. Religion will open to their vision 



Religion and the Family. 339 

that married life is accompanied with trials 
and vexations of spirit, but for these it will 
furnish sustaining power. When, after the 
dread contract has been made, the intimate 
knowledge man and wife have of each other's 
peculiarities of temper and prejudice, and 
each other's sins and selfishness, there will 
arise feelings of regret, mayhap of disgust, 
religion will remind them of the sacredness 
and solemnity of their mutual promise — 
"till death do us part" — and will suggest 
patience, charity and the ministry of help- 
fulness. 

Should the Almighty send little ones to 
the keeping of these spouses, religion will 
point out most clearly the parental duties. 
The mother, unlike the beast of the field, 
which by a merely natural instinct gathers 
her young to her bosom, will legard her 
babes as treasures from God, reflections of 
the Divine Image. She will look upon 
those helpless little creatures as rightful 
claimants of every fond care, and the father 
shall be the willing and jealous guardian of 
both his spouse and offspring. When the 
young mind gives evidence of unfolding, the 



340 Plain Sermons, 

parents, who have been formed under the 
holy influence of religion, will begin the 
development of the child's spiritual life by 
sowing the seeds of the knowledge and love 
of God and virtue, and by inculcating the 
spirit of docility. Religion will continue to 
teach them to love, to admonish, to correct 
and to encourage, and according to their 
resources, to educate their children, until by 
this process good characters are developed, 
who are able to control themselves, and who 
are capacitated to be helpful to society. 
These in turn, will be fitted properly to enter 
the married state and to shoulder its great 
responsibilities. That same sacred influence 
teaches those • children no less clearly their 
duties towards their parents. It commands 
them to love, to honor and to obey them, to 
look upon them as the representatives of 
the Most High; to succor them in their 
needs, and to be the consolation of their 
gray hairs. It teaches them to recognize 
with sentiments of deepest gratitude what 
has been done for them, and to requite that 
service so far as in them lies. 



Religion and ihe Family. 341 

When religion has thus moulded a family, 
that family is prepared to bear the misfor- 
tunes and heart-breaks of life in an incom- 
parably better manner than is the family in 
which religion's benign and strengthening 
influence is not felt. When sickness or 
poverty enters the home that is influenced 
by religion, though pain is, indeed, expe- 
rienced, yet its keen edge is very considera- 
bly dulled by resignation and hope, and by 
the knowledge that God's chastisements are 
not unaccompanied with love. When from 
the midst of such a family the hand of death 
snatches a victim, though there be realized 
a keen sense of loss, yet the bereaved ones 
are enabled by religion to look up meekly 
through their tears and say to Him who 
both giveth and taketh away, "Thy will be 
done." They know, too, that death is not 
an irremediable separation, but that their 
lost one and themselves will be reunited for- 
ever in God. Death in such a family leaves 
no aching void in the hearts of the survivors, 
for they go with a sweetened sadness to the 
last earthly abode of their beloved dead, and 
kneeling around the cross which marks the 



342 Plain Sermons. 

spot, they pour out prayerful suffrage that 
his soul may soon be rested and refreshed. 

No one will deny that peace and tranquility 
can be secured in a home only by the exer- 
cise of patience, forbearance, the spirit of 
forgiveness and charity, These are neces- 
sary to counteract the selfishness, irritability 
and pride which are so natural to all of us, 
and which, if unrestrained in a family, 
would shortly precipitate a dreadful condi- 
tion. They would set father against mother, 
sister against brother, and child against 
parent. Experience fully demonstrates that 
the exercise of the virtues mentioned above 
cannot depend upon any merely natural or 
utilitarian motive. Here and there we find 
an individual who, through natural strength 
of character, is able to practice patience and 
forbearance to a marked degree, but a for- 
giving and charitable spirit whereby our 
pride is vanquished, comes only from God, 
and religion alone furnishes any adequate 
motive for its exercise. It may be said 
without fear of successful contradiction, that 
for the vast majority of the human race, the 
exercise of these domestic virtues without 



Religion and the Family. 343 

the aid of religion is practically impossible. 
Hence, for the general well-being of the 
family, for the securing of that harmony 
and tranquility so necessary that any 
domestic happiness may be realized, religion 
is utterly indispensable. Though every false 
system of belief has admitted the truth that 
religion is essential to the family, it was 
reserved for the true religion to effect what 
all the others had essayed in vain, namely, 
the formation of a good family. 

Since the family is the moral unit of 
society, it follows that the characteristics of 
society in any given community are the 
sum of the special characteristics of the 
families that go to form said community. 
If, then, the community as a whole manifests 
respect for God's Truth and the laws of 
morality, the cause of this respect can surely 
be found in the bosom of the family. When, 
on the contrary , religion has lost its influence 
around the hearthstone, then irreligion will 
walk abroad in all its ghastliness, leading 
the way to sensuality and social rottenness. 

It is beyond reasonable question that we 
live in a deeply irreligious age, and it is just 



344 Plain Sermons. 

as true that this sad fact has its cause in the 
irreligious family. The marriage which 
inaugurates such a family has for its motive 
lust or some purely material interest. It is 
entered into in response to some disorderly 
inclination or some suspicious fascination, 
and, needless to add, without any serious 
consideration. Are we not all aware that 
many marriages are arranged solely with a 
view to advance one's social position, or to 
obtain a fortune in this world's goods? 
Where there is no idea of the holy character 
with which marriage is invested surely, 
then, we will not find any serious convictions 
as to the duties and responsibilities which 
the state of matrimony imposes. Hence we 
will not find even a strict regard for the 
great obligation of marital fidelity, the lack 
of which regard explains those frequent 
drif tings apart, which are the growth of an 
adulterous seed. So laden is the atmosphere 
we breathe with moral contagion, that even 
among the children of the Church we find 
some who dare to criticize her unswerving 
insistence upon the sacredness and indis- 
solubility of the marriage bond. It is but 



Religion a?id the Family. 345 

natural that the children of those unfortunate 
alliances, to which I have just referred, are 
devoid of religious sense, and carry on in 
their turn the propaganda of sin, thereby 
increasing that ocean of sensuality that 
threatens to engulf society. It is not sur- 
prising that such families are totally unequal 
to the severer trials of life, In the face of 
misfortune they seek consolation in self- 
indulgence, usually in the obliteration of 
rational consciousness by intoxication, and 
if, mayhap, the burden of sorrow is extraor- 
dinarily heavy, suicide is often resorted to 
as an avenue of escape. They do not cry 
out in their distress to the only Source of 
help, for in their domestic life there is no 
God. His name, perhaps, is never men- 
tioned there, save in blasphemy and male- 
diction. 

Were we to narrow down our reflections 
to irreligion in Catholic families, unhappily 
we would have ample matter for considera- 
tion. The majority of Catholic marriages 
are not liable to severe criticism on account 
of neglect of preparation. Speaking gen- 
erally, the Church has that hold on her 



346 Plain Sermoris. 

young people which enables her to secure 
for them some fitting preparation for the 
married condition. In spite of this, however, 
we are confronted with much irreligion 
in Catholic families, and that irreligion 
proves a harrowingly destructive force. 
Some young couples begin auspiciously, but 
after the advent of a family, grow neglectful 
of religious duties, assigning flimsy excuses 
for their conduct. This is particularly true 
of young mothers. There is no doubt that 
their duties to babes at times exempt them 
from the obligation of hearing mass, yet 
they incline to exaggerate the difficulties in 
the way of their regularly worshipping God 
at the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice, and 
through spiritual sloth they become entirely 
indifferent. These women seldom rally, 
but become, for the most part, life-long care- 
less Catholics. The neglect of religion on 
the part of Catholic fathers is generally 
attributable to the cultivation of some vicious 
habit that is incompatible with the regular 
practice of religion. In the majority of cases 
that habit is drink. Drunkenness is, of all 
vices, perhaps, the most difficult to over- 



Rellgio?i and the Family. 347 

throw, and in a husband and father it is 
most horror-inspiring, since it not only 
prevents him from living the life of a Chris- 
tian, thereby setting an edifying example to 
his offspring, but it hands down to hapless 
little ones the heritage of a bad inclination, 
and in thousands of cases the destructive 
habit itself. 

The children of such parents suffer from 
bad example and from lack of sufficient 
incentive to attend to religious duties, and 
so become, like their parents, careless and 
indifferent Catholics. Contact with the 
world makes the boys of these unhappy 
families the slaves of vice. These poor lads 
know not the necessity of avoiding temptation 
because they never received the training 
from which such knowledge springs. The 
girls of such families are not prepared for 
the shocks and suggestions of the world, 
and though protected to some degree by that 
traditional horror for the loss of virtue, yet 
many fall into dishonor and ruin. What a 
fearful account will irreligious parents have 
to render for such woeful havoc of souls 
redeemed by the blood of the Immaculate 
Lamb of God. 



348 Plain Sermons, 

There is another type of Catholic family 
in which there exists some religions influ- 
ence, but it is effective only to a slight 
extent. There is a regard for the obligation 
of observing the precepts of the Church, 
which have relation to mass and sacraments, 
but religion is not in palpable evidence in 
the home circle. It does not enter intimately 
into the domestic relation. The religious 
life of each member is separate and distinct. 
This state of affairs is immeasurably better 
than the lamentable state of things upon 
which we reflected a moment ago, yet it 
could and should be vastly improved . Would 
to God that the old family customs of pray- 
ing together, of attending the Holy Myster- 
ies together, and of kneeling together at 
the Eucharistic table, still survived. The 
fact that they are sunk in desuetude is a 
sign of our decadent religious spirit. 

Be assured, then, Beloved, that unless 
religion be the foundation of the family life, 
domestic peace and order are quite unattain- 
able. " Unless the Lord build the house, 
they labor in vain who build it. (1) "Where it 

1 Ps. cxxvi, 1. 



Religion and the Family. 349 

lives and flourishes in a family, though 
there may be those little roughnesses that 
are known even among the just, yet there 
exists a confiding, permanent and holy love 
between husband and wife, a continuous, 
anxious effort to train children in the way 
of righteousness, a spirit of love and obe- 
dience on the part of children, and the 
domestic circle is a sanctuary of peace and a 
nursery of virtue. When religion is absent 
from the family hearthstone, the curse of 
God is present, and that curse makes itself 
felt in all those melancholy ills which mark 
an unhappy home. If family life in its 
normal condition is the sweetest and most 
fascinating institution peculiar to humanity, 
after religion, surely in its distorted and 
irreligious form it is productive of more 
wretchedness, misery and perdition than any 
other agency. 



THE GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY 
OF MARRIED LIFE. 

* 'Hast thou children? Instruct them and bow down their 
neck from their childhood.* , (1) 

Dearly Beloved: A careful inspection of 
that portion of the Liturgy, which is set 
apart for the marriage ceremony, reveals the 
fact that though the Church expresses so- 
licitude for the contracting parties and 
heaps benedictions upon them, yet by far 
her greatest care is for the prospective fruit 
of the matrimonial union — the little ones 
who are to be born into the world. There 
is nothing marvelous in this, since the pro- 
creation of children is the primary end of 
marriage and upon that procreation depend 
marriage's greatest duties and responsibili- 
ties. According to the mind of the Church, 
the child is deposited by God in the hands 
of parents, whose duty it is to care for it 
with the greatest solicitude and to prepare 

1 Bcclus VII, 25. 

"■ (350) 



The Greatest Responsibility of Married Life. 351 

it for eternal union with its Creator. 
Hence, there can surely be no greater re- 
sponsibility than that of parents in their 
relation to children, and since the Almighty 
loves a human soul with such unfathomable 
attachment, it is but logical to conclude 
that He will demand of parents a harrowing 
account of their stewardship. If He teaches 
the lower forms of animal life to care for 
their young with an assiduity and devotion, 
which betray something almost like intelli- 
gence, could it be possible that He is not 
immeasurably more concerned with the care 
and development of little ones made to His 
Image? No, surely, and in the order of na- 
ture, that care and development devolve 
primarily and most heavily upon those who 
were instrumental in bringing those little 
ones into the world. Notwithstanding this 
great responsibility; notwithstanding the 
incontestable importance of the business of 
parents in this connection, there is no sin 
more common among Christian parents, and 
no sin more disastrous in its effects, than 
the neglect of the proper training of the 
young. It is a sin that does not receive so 



352 Plain Sermons. 

much palliation from ignorance as other 
derelictions of duty, because human nature, 
independently of other sources of instruc- 
tion, points out with considerable clearness 
the duty of parent toward child. Most pa- 
rents, it is true, train up their children with 
care as regards the temporal or material side 
of their development. There is (except 
among the lowest classes of society) a general 
tendency in the direction of preparing the 
young for life, by this or that sort .of educa- 
tion, in order that they may become self- 
sustaining. There is a general solicitude 
for their health and a pride as to their ap- 
pearance and attire, but the neglect of the 
spiritual side of their education is simply 
appalling. 

The first important mistake made by pa- 
rents in the training of children is the no- 
tion that no attempt at educating a child 
should be attempted before the little one has 
reached the age of reason. Just as soon as 
the child's mind begins to open to ideas of 
any sort, there should be an earnest and un- 
tiring effort to communicate to it the idea 
of God and of the relation existing between 



The Greatest Responsibility of Married Life. 353 

the Creator and the little heart. All this 
will take an extremely crude and rudimentary 
form in a very young mind, it is true, but 
even in that form it is invaluable. The fee- 
ble lisping of God's Holy Name, and the 
inarticulate attempts at prayer, may seem a 
senseless prattle, but they are an integral 
part of that training which has its goal in 
union with God forever. Another most im- 
portant portion of the child's training in its 
tenderest years (and one so often neg- 
lected) is the inculcation of the idea of sub- 
mission to parental authority. We offend 
in this more generally in this country than 
elsewhere. Mothers, through a mistaken 
idea of tenderness and gentleness, will in- 
dulge the cravings of very young children 
to such an extent, that they become verita- 
ble little monsters. It is most destructive 
of the will-power of the child, who grows up 
a victim of his own caprices, and who, in af- 
ter life, spends many bitter hours that 
might have been saved him, by the judi- 
cious curbing of his inclinations on the part 
of a fond but wise mother. This training 
of the young child to the notion of submis- 



354 Plain Sermons. 

sion is by no means incompatible with the 
cultivation of the conviction that the par- 
ents are its best and most loving friends. 
The tender years of childhood call for a 
combination of gentleness and firmness on 
the part of parents who, alas, are so often 
deficient in one or the other of these quali- 
ties. 

It is most lamentable to find among a 
gathering of young Catholic children so 
many who are utterly m devoid of that reli- 
gious instruction, which only the parent 
can furnish. Every priest of experience 
has felt heartache at the contemplation of 
scores of hapless little ones who have 
reached the age of reason without the ability 
rightly to sign themselves with the sign of 
salvation, or to recite coherently the 
prayer that fell from the lips of Jesus Christ 
teaching the world how to address the 
Eternal Father of us all. The parents, who 
delude themselves by thinking that there is 
neither obligation or utility in beginning 
the religious training of a child until it has 
reached discretion's years, usually neglect 
that training altogether or carry it forward 



The Greatest Responsibility of Married Life. 355 

so inadequately that it amounts to little or 
nothing. The father excuses himself on 
the plea that such work is proper to the 
mother, since he must attend to the weary 
labor of material support, and the mother 
neglects it through lack of conviction as to 
her awful responsibility. 

As years roll on the child advances to 
that period when his mental faculties de- 
mand special attention. The possession of 
his intellect involves a right to its cultiva- 
tion, and there is a correlative duty on the 
part of the parents to secure to the young 
mind some measure of that cultivation. Ed- 
ucation, in its complete sense, means the 
training of the mental and moral faculties 
with that amount of attention devoted to the 
body, which is necessary for the preserva- 
tion of health. We are not concerned here 
with the physical aspect of education, but 
with training of the mind and heart. The. 
moral part of education — the religious ele- 
ment of education, cannot be separated from 
the training of the intellect without grave 
danger to the young soul. To separate 
these two means to disrupt the natural unity 



356 Plaiyi Sermons, 

of education. Religious training guides 
and safeguards the developments of the in- 
tellect. The Church, in her solicitude for 
the souls of her young, has been keenly 
alive to the truth of what I have just said, 
and so she dispenses the education of the 
head while instilling the doctrines of faith 
and morality. All this is of gravest im- 
port in the matter of parental obligation. It 
is the Catholic parents' duty to see to it, 
that wherever the opportunity presents it- 
self of affording their children an education 
such as I have just described, they are in 
duty bound to avail themselves of such an 
opportunity. Hence, to put it plainly, it is 
a duty incumbent upon parents to send 
their young to the Church school. I am 
fully aware of the fact that some parents 
contend for the right to send their children 
elsewhere for an education, maintaining at 
the same time, that they can attend to the 
religious training of their children at home. 
Such parents place themselves in direct op- 
position to the mind of the Church, and 
generally speaking (as experience has am- 
ply proven), are unfit to supply what the 



The Greatest Responsibility of Married Life. 357 

Church demands for her little ones in the 
way of religious knowledge. Countless 
souls have been lost to the Church by pa- 
rental contempt and indifference to her so- 
licitude in the matter of Christian educa- 
tion. It has become the fashion, in certain 
parts of the country, to criticise the paro- 
chial school system for inefficiency. Many, 
wise in their own foolish conceits, will as- 
sure us that the Church school compares un- 
favorably with that of the state. These 
criticisms and judgments are simply the re- 
sults of a hostile condition of mind, and 
rarely come from those competent to pro- 
nounce an opinion on the matter, and even 
were these strictures not without some 
foundation, it should be constantly borne in 
mind that the invaluable religious and 
moral training of the parochial school out- 
weighs every other consideration. 

There exists a notion in the minds of a 
large contingent of parents that when boys 
and girls arrive at a wage-earning period, 
and are, therefore, able to bring a few dollars 
weekly to the support of the home that they 
are entitled, on this account, to a largess of 



358 Plain Sermons. 

liberty, which belongs properly to persons 
of mature age. A foolish mother will tell 
you that her boy works hard all day, and 
that he needs recreation at night and so, 
although he may not have reached his sev- 
enteenth or eighteenth year, he is free to 
leave the parental roof and go where he 
lists, until the night is far spent. The 
father may be alive to the danger that en- 
compasses his boy, but is frequently too 
slothful or uninterested to manifest any 
concern. How many fathers and mothers 
sitting before me now realize with bitter- 
ness of heart how they have been guilty of 
the ruin of a boy, who in childhood gavfe 
such fair promise. Yes, Beloved, the boy, 
who is left free to drift with the tide at 
night, becomes an easy victim to vice of 
every description. With the fire of youth- 
ful passion burning within him and with 
no restraining influence, an alluring world 
that attunes its fascinating music to the 
disorderly cravings of his poor young heart, 
easily leads him captive, debauches all his 
moral energies and leaves him a drunkard 
or a libertine or both. What has been said 



The Greatest Responsibility of Married Life. 359 

of boys applies with due proportion to girls. 
Mothers too often feel called on to allow a 
certain dangerous and often fatal liberty to 
their daughters. They exercise no surveil- 
lance over the companionships and acquaint- 
ances which their girls form, and they are 
particularly guilty in their indifference to 
the characters of the young men with whom 
these young persons take up. During 
what is commonly termed the courtship 
period, when the solicitude and watchful- 
ness of a mother should be ever active and 
alert, foolish mothers will abstain from con- 
cerning themselves, for fear very often of 
interfering with a daughter's prospects in 
life, when that lack of interest is sometimes, 
nay often, the cause of dishonor to the girl 
who might have been saved by maternal 
care and vigilance. 

The failure properly to exercise the pa- 
rental prerogatives is very often not con- 
fined to mistaken notions of the liberty that 
should be accorded a child or to a stolid 
indifference to his waywardness, but that fail- 
ure includes all the horrors of vicious exam- 
ple. As example is the most forceful teach- 



360 Plain Sermons. 

ing for good, so there is nothing so thor- 
oughly destructive of virtue in the young 
as bad example on the part of parents. It 
not only permits the growth of evil habits 
in youthful souls, but it invites and en- 
courages their cultivation. It is an almost 
overpowering force that compels the young 
heart to wrong-doing. 

We hear a great deal nowadays of the ob- 
soleteness of the old methods of punishing 
and correcting children. The rod is termed 
a relic of barbaric times, and that in the 
present enlightened age it must be sup- 
planted by moral suasion. Beloved, human 
nature is not differently constituted now 
from what it was in any former age, nor can 
it be maintained for a moment that we are 
more civilized than we were a century ago, 
when the rod was looked upon as a proper 
means for the punishing and reforming of 
the young. It is beyond the pale of legiti- 
mate controversy that obedience and re- 
spect for authority were virtues which 
abounded then among the young far more 
generally than they do to-day. The word 
of God insists upon the use of the rod in 



The Greatest Responsibility of Married Life. 361 

producing good conduct and right-minded- 
ness in children, and surely the so-called 
wise ones of this pretentious and inflated 
age, have no keener insight into the needs 
of human nature than the Holy Ghost. 
"He that loveth his son, frequently chastis- 
eth him that he may rejoice in his latter end, 
and not grope after the doors of his neighbors. 
A horse not broken, becometh stubborn, 
and a child left to himself will become head- 
strong. Give thy son his way and he shall 
make thee afraid; play with him and he 
shall make thee sorrowful. Laugh not 
with him lest thou have sorrow, and at the 
last thy teeth be set on edge. * * * Beat 
his sides while he is a child lest he grow 
stubborn and regard thee not, and so be a 
sorrow of heart to thee." (1) These, Be- 
loved, are the words of inspiration and their 
meaning is surely unmistakable. If diso- 
bedience, untruthfulness, disrespect and 
general waywardness in children are not 
met with drastic punishment they grow rap- 
idly into strongly rooted habits and reduce 
young souls to a condition of moral help- 

1 Ecclus XXX, 1, 8, 12. 



362 Plain Sermons, 

lessness. How foolish the parent, who 
thinks he serves his child's best interests, 
by allowing his sins to go unpunished. 
Who will connt the broken hearts of fathers 
and mothers who have only awakened to 
their folly, after sons and daughters had 
been hopelessly ruined by criminal indul- 
gence of their faults. It should be observed 
here that punishment by the rod, like any 
other form of parental correction, should be 
administered with the proper motive and 
with due moderation. Many parents ad- 
minister severe chastisement not out of a 
sense of duty, but to satisfy their own anger. 
This, far from being the fulfilment of a duty, 
is an act of vindictiveness and brutality. 
The parent who meets the fault of a child 
with vituperation and profanity is a teacher 
of evil, and invites his child, as it were, to 
despise him and hold him in contempt. 

There is another feature in the parental 
work of training children, which is rarely 
insisted upon, yet it is a feature of primary 
importance. I mean the cultivation in the 
young heart of a love for home. It is in- 
cumbent upon a parent not only to subject 



The Greatest Responsibility of Married Life. 363 

his child to a discipline of both mind and 
bodj^ but also to furnish him with means 
of relaxation and recreation, and these 
means should be found in great part within 
the domestic walls. The reason why a 
great many young folks have no love for 
home, and are habitually given to leaving 
the parental roof, nay more, of spending as 
little time beneath it as possible, is because 
home is rendered unpleasant by the severity, 
gloom and moroseness of a father, or be- 
cause there is no effort on the part of the 
parents to make their home attractive. 
Young folks are bound to seek amusement, 
and if it is not furnished at the fireside, 
they will seek it abroad, and when abroad 
they will not be judicious in the selection of 
their recreation. When home is a place to 
which they turn with eagerness and pleas- 
ant anticipation, when conditions are such 
that they can invite their young friends to 
share their domestic relaxation, then count- 
less grave dangers are avoided in the way 
of occasions of grievous sin. I do not mean 
to infer that young folks always should be 
cloistered within the walls of their houses. 



364 Plain Sermons. 

This would be both abnormal and unhealthy 
to both mind and body, but I would insist 
that a considerable portion of their free 
time should be spent in the domestic circle; 
and in order that this may be effected, it is 
necessary for parents to be alert to the duty 
of doing everything in their power to make 
home agreeable. Some fathers act as 
though their children were their natural 
enemies. These wretched men inspire 
their young with no love or respect, but 
simply with servile fear. "Be not as a lion 
in thy house," says Holy Writ, "terrifying 
them of thy household." (1) Children of 
such fathers look forward with pleasure to 
the day of their emancipation from parental 
tyranny. 

Another issue of moment in the matter 
of parental duty is the taking into serious 
consideration the special talents and legiti- 
mate inclinations of children. When God 
gives a special talent, the bestowal carries 
with it a right to utilize the gift, and since 
young folks generally depend upon their 
parents for the developing of any special 

1 Eccl. IV, 35. 



The Greatest Respoyisibility of Married Life. 365 

faculty, there is some sort of obligation on 
the part of parents to render what aid 
they can. Lack of interest on the part of 
selfish and indifferent fathers and mothers, 
where there was opportunity to encourage 
and aid a worthy ambition in a child,, has 
often resulted in disaster. There is many a 
shiftless good-for-nothing walking the streets 
to-day because he was denied an opportunity 
in youth. There are many dismal failures 
in life, owing to the fact that the possessors 
of God-given abilities were never encouraged 
to develop and utilize them. It must be 
confessed that considerable skill and pru- 
dence must be brought to bear in this mat- 
ter in order to distinguish a real talent, or a 
well-founded inclination in a special direc- 
tion, from mere childish w r hims that change 
with the hour. As on the one hand, it is der- 
eliction of duty in a parent to take no con- 
sideration of the special gifts that God has 
bestowed upon his children, so on the other 
hand, it would be thoroughly destructive of a 
child's character to take serious account of 
his every fancy. 

Beloved, there is hardly any subject upon 
which God's priest could address you 



366 Plain Sermons. 

that rivals in importance the present theme. 
You who are parents ask the Almighty for 
a correct realization of your duties. The 
insistence of the Inspired Word upon the 
right performance of your duties towards 
those whom you have brought into the 
world, makes it thoroughly clear how strict 
an account the Lord God will require of you. 
If, mayhap, you have erred in this extremely 
grave matter, be up and doing for the cor- 
rection of your mistakes, begging of the 
Lord help to right what is amiss. You, 
who are at the initial step of married life, 
prepare your souls against temptations to 
remissness in parental duty. Remember 
that the most fundamental part of the spir- 
itual training of your little ones is in your 
hands and you cannot delegate it to another. 
Avail yourselves of every opportunity of 
securing to your children a good, sound 
Christian education. Train them well in the 
way of righteousness, and above all teach 
them constantly by your good example. 
Pray for them daily, for this, too, is an im- 
portant part of your parental duty. Be- 
seech the Almighty to strengthen your 



The Greatest Responsibility of Married Life. 367 

hands for the performance of your work. 
Beg Him to keep those He has given you in 
the path of goodness, to lead them from the 
snares of the evil one, and to fortify their 
hearts against temptation. "He that in- 
structeth his son shall be praised in him, 
and shall glory in him in the midst of them 
of his household." (1) 

1 Kcclus XXX, 2. • 



RESPECT FOR PARENTAL AND 
CHURCH AUTHORITY. 

"Honor thy father and thy mother that thou mayest 
be long lived upon the land which the I v ord thy God will 
give thee." (1) 

"If he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as a 
heathen and a publican. " (2) "Obey your prelates and 
be subject to them, for they watch as being to render an 
account of your souls." (3) 

Beloved, civilization to-day is quivering to 
the reverberations of the sullen roar of the 
French Revolution. That monstrous effort 
at national suicide constituted the gravest 
attempt at the demolition of all authority that 
the history of the world reveals. The annals 
of the world's peoples teem with narratives 
of the overthrow of dynasties, of the forcible 
substitution of one form of government for 
another, but the most patent feature of the 
revolution of 1789 was a popular craving 
for the destruction of all authority, for the 

1 Ex. xx, 12. 

2 Matt. XVIII, 17. 

3 Heb. XIII, 17. 

(368) 



Respect for Parental and Church Authority, 369 

obliteration of the name of God, for a season 
of bloodshed, lawlessness and horrors of 
every description. That craving was grati- 
fied to the letter. That fearful upheaval 
did not begin and end with the French 
nation, for it contaminated to a dangerous 
degree the mind of every people in Europe, 
and it inaugurated one of the most restless 
centuries of the Christian Era. The rest- 
lessness of the nineteenth century had its 
chief expression in impatience of the con- 
stituted governmental authorities. It was 
a century productive of socialistic and an- 
archistic theories. The contagion was car- 
ried to this country and its germ found 
many fertile spots on our soil, so that even 
now we are (so to speak) trembling on the 
verge of a precipice. This evil spirit, which 
had its birth in France, has not confined 
itself to the public life of nations, but it has 
found its way to the very sanctuary of 
domestic life, for respect toward parental 
authority has been diminished alarmingly 
during the last generation. It is generally 
conceded, however, that here in our own 
land there is less regard for the authority 



370 Plain Sermons. 

of parents than elsewhere throughout Chris- 
tendom. This may be readily explained by 
the fact that living under institutions 
which afford liberty in such abundant meas- 
ure, the popular mind becomes intoxicated 
and fancies that the imposition of restraint 
even of a most necessary character is an 
encroachment upon that freedom, which is 
our birthright. 

Beloved, no matter what the age and the 
world may encourage or allow in this mat- 
ter now under our consideration, we must 
be guided by the Word of God and by the 
Church, the organ of His Revelation. The 
world will tell you that in that evolution 
which is a universal phenomenon our views 
have become obsolete and that though 
authority parental or other must needs receive 
a due measure of reverence and respect, 
nevertheless, the liberty of the individual is 
the watchword of the hour. The Inspired 
Word sets forth with striking emphasis the 
necessity of unquestioning submission on 
the part of children and warns parents of 
the evil that will follow their neglect to 
exact obedience. "Give thy son his way 



Respect for Parental and Church Authority. 371 

and he shall make thee afraid. * * * Give 
him not liberty in his youth." (1) 

We will not concern ourselves here with 
the obedience of small children, for the sim- 
ple reason that its existence or non-exist- 
ence depends almost absolutely on the per- 
formance or neglect of parental duty. Our 
object here is to consider the sin of disobe- 
dience and disrespect in young folks of a 
more responsible age. It should be insisted 
on that God takes, as it were, a special inter- 
est in the precept, whereby He commands 
that we honor and obey those, by whose in- 
strumentality we are in the world. With 
respect to the other precepts, we find here and 
there in connection with their promulgation 
the expression of some terrible sanction, 
but with respect to this commandment the 
Most High held out, as it were, an induce- 
ment to encourage us in its observance. He 
attaches to the words of command the prom- 
ise that obedience should be rewarded, even 
in this world, by material blessing. " Honor 
thy father and thy mother that thou mayest 
be long-lived upon the land which the Lord 

1 Ecclus xxx, 9, 11, 



372 Plain Sermons. 

thy God shall give thee." We find upon 
reflection that the action of God in this mat- 
ter is not marvelous, for the reason of all 
that respect and obedience which we show 
to our parents is because they represent 
God whose place they fill in our regard, and 
as in His wisdom He has inseparably com- 
bined the relation of parent and child with 
the tenderest affections of the human heart, 
in accord with this providence, He tempers 
His precept with something which accent- 
uates His Paternity and the love for us 
which is inherent to it. We must not lose 
sight of the fact, however, that though the 
Almighty makes a promise of even temporal 
beatitude as a reward for the keeping of this 
portion of His law, He does not omit to tell 
us in sundry places of Holy Writ, that He 
will visit its neglect or breach with curses. 
The obligation of obedience and respect 
for parents, then, has its origin in the sol- 
emn command of the Almighty and the 
contemning of that command involves the 
malice of rebellion against God. This rebel- 
lion is a mortal or a venial sin, according 
to the character of the irreverence or diso- 



Respect for' Parental and Chnrcli Authority. 373 

bedience committed. There is more de- 
pravity of heart required for grave and hab- 
itual disregard of parental authority than 
for almost any other sin which may be 
mentioned. I am aware of the fact that 
the theologians teach, that in point of ac- 
tual gravity, this sin is exceeded by some 
other infractions of the Divine Law, yet the 
fact remains that the sinner, who habitually 
and gravely offends against the Fourth 
Commandment, is one who has succeeded in 
practically eradicating the finest and tender- 
est feelings of the human heart. He must be- 
come a sort of moral suicide before he be- 
comes habituated to this species of guilt. 
We do not speak here of those slight out- 
bursts of impatience and insubordination 
that have most probably marred the lives of 
most of us, but rather of those acts which 
are unmistakably grave infringements of 
the Divine Law. Nature, herself, though 
weakened and corrupt, affords help and aid 
in observing this precept, since she fills us 
with such an unquestioning love for father 
and mother. The world at large, though 
irreligious and sinful, brands the man, who 



374 Plain Sermons. 

is known to have treated with contempt 
those who brought him into the world. 

Besides the malice of rebellion against 
God and violence to the finest sentiments 
with which He has adorned the human 
heart, sins against filial piety involve name- 
less ingratitude. Let us suppose the case 
of a young man who rebels against parental 
admonition, despises parental advice, ig- 
nores parental commands and treats his 
parents with positive marks of disre- 
spect. Let us fathom (if such a thing 
is possible), the ingratitude of this young 
sinner. The mother, against whom he sins 
so flagrantly, brought him into the world at 
the expense of excruciating agony, but 
when he was born she forgot all her pain, 
for at once she began to love him w r ith a 
mighty love. During the years of helpless 
infancy, her affection, her hope, her inter- 
est and her anxiety were centered in him. 
How diligently she watched his sleeping 
and his waking hours. She knew no care 
of self when his comfort was at stake. How 
her heart throbbed between hope and de- 
spair when his little life was imperiled by 



Respect for Parental and Chiirch Authority, 375 

sickness. How it pulsated with joy at his 
recovery. He was her pride when he grew 
from infancy to boyhood and her wondrous 
love saw charms in him that the world 
could never discover. His selfishness she 
condoned and all her corrections were tem- 
pered with love. Poor soul, she willingly 
deluded herself into the notion that his acts 
and words of disobedience and disrespect 
were not meant, and she persuaded herself 
that his heart was lacerated by the memory 
of them. Mystery of nature! the revelation 
of these faults have caused no diminution of 
her love, but have only made it more anx- 
ious. He has grown from boyhood to youth 
and now stands on manhood's threshold. 
She is broken-hearted at his waywardness, 
but never gives up hope of his reformation. 
She admonishes, she entreats, she loves 
more intensely than ever. He goes forth 
into the purlieus of the city by night and as 
the hours chase each other on, her dread of 
possible ill to him makes her head feverish 
and causes her heart to ache. Does she lie 
down to rest? Ah no, Beloved; with strain- 
ing ears she sits at a window, awaiting the 



376 Plain Sermons, 

sound of his footstep, and tells her beads at 
the midnight hour, begging the Mother of 
Mercy to care for the wayward boy. When 
at last he comes and greets her admonition 
with words of bitterness and, mayhap, male- 
diction, poor heart, she takes no offence, 
but rests her weary head upon her pillow, 
thanking God that her child is safe at home. 
Ah, Beloved, who will measure the in- 
gratitude of that monster? Is he not pre- 
pared for any act of villiany and degrada- 
tion? Is there any iniquity from which he 
would surely recoil in the presence of strong 
temptation? What heart is harder than 
that on which the tears of a mother's love 
make no softening impression? It is true 
that I have considered an extreme case, but 
Beloved, it is a type whose name is legion. 
Sins of children against parents are not con- 
fined, of course, to those which are aimed 
directly against the mother, but on account of 
the fear which the strength of a father in- 
spires the offenses against his authority are 
not so external, yet the interior sins of dis- 
respect and contempt are recorded by the 
Searcher of hearts. The coward, however, 



Respect for Parental and Church Authority. 377 

who hesitates not to disobey and disregard 
his mother, will readily take advantage of a 
father's helplessness to heap disrespect and 
irreverence upon him. Though the ingrat- 
itude of sins against the mother impresses 
us more readily than that which character- 
izes the sins against the father, yet the lat- 
ter is not less real. What is it that often 
causes the hair of the father of a family to 
become prematurely gray? What furrows 
his brow and bends his once stalwart form? 
Beloved, it is the wearing toil and anxiety 
to secure to his offspring temporal well-be- 
ing. And do you suppose that because he 
is a man, he has no heart to feel the rebel- 
lion and disrespect of unnatural children? 
Boys are greater offenders than girls against 
the duties they owe to parents, yet the lat- 
ter are by no means guiltless. Their acts 
and words against filial piety may not 
equal in grossness the sins of their brothers, 
yet they are equally as guilty, since a girl 
must do great violence to her own natural 
delicacy and sensitiveness in order to prac- 
tice wilful disobedience and irreverence. 



378 Plain Sermons. 

Parents are not always worthy of their 
high vocation, nay more, their lives may be 
sadly out of accord with the Commandments 
of God, yet this fact does not liberate the 
young from their filial obligations. When 
amid the thunders of Sinai, the Lord de- 
manded honor for father and mother, He 
, did not qualify His mandate, by insisting 
' A that we obey and reverence only the worthy 
parent. It is at times most trying to ful- 
fil one's duty in the face of distressing faults 
on a parent's part, yet nowhere in the In- 
spired Word or in the teaching of the 
Church can we find that a father's or 
mother's dereliction of duty affords the 
slightest dispensation from the practice of 
filial respect. 

Let us come now to the consideration of 
the submission which we owe to the Church. 
It is most difficult to understand how one 
can read the New Testament without being 
convinced that Christ not only established a 
Church, but that He invested it with an 
abundance of power. He made that Church 
the teacher and ruler of all nations. When 
He sent His first priests into the world, He 



Respect for Parental and Church Authority. 379 

declared that He sent them as the Father 
had sent Him. His own words teach ns 
with perfect clearness how He was sent. 
" All power," says He, "is given to Me in 
heaven and on earth." (1) It was, there- 
fore, with a plentitnde of power that He sent 
them to teach the world. Furthermore, He 
identifies Himself with them, declaring that 
to refuse them submission was to rebel 
against Himself and against the Father who 
sent Him. "He that heareth you, heareth 
Me, and he that despiseth you, despiseth 
Me, and he that despiseth Me, despiseth 
Him that sent Me." (2) "Obey your prel- 
ates and be subject to them," (3) says St. 
Paul, and again, "He that will not hear the 
Church, let him be to thee as a heathen and 
a publican." (4) 

These words could be reinforced by many 
more from the Inspired Volume to prove to 
any unprejudiced mind that the idea of 
Church authority is fundamental in the New 
Testament. And in truth an appeal to 

1 Matt. XXXVIII, 18. 

2 Luke X, 16. 

3 Heb. XIII, 17. 

4 Matt. XVIII, 17. 



380 Plain Sermons. 

reason is quite sufficient to satisfy the 
reflecting mind that the Church could not 
be the guide and teacher of mankind, unless 
she were invested with a large measure of 
power to command. 

The independent spirit of the age, Be- 
loved, has had its evil effects, not only in 
our public and domestic life, but also in the 
Church. The Spouse of Christ does not 
receive from her children to-day that whole- 
souled, generous submission that the faithful 
of former ages gladly offered to her. I do 
not speak of that spirit of criticism, which 
exists among many intelligent and faithful 
Catholics, by the exercise of which they dis- 
cuss this or that line of external policy that 
is adopted by the rulers of Christ's King- 
dom on' earth. It cannot be maintained that 
respectful criticism of actions or policies, 
more political than religious ) could ever 
constitute disloyalty to the Church, except 
in the minds of bigots, of whom we have an 
unfortunately large number in the Church. 
The qualified submission to which I have 
referred expresses itself in a querulous spirit 
that is impatient of the Church's exercise 



Respect for Parental and Church Authority . 381 

of legitimate power. Catholics, who are not 
specially devoted, become infected by the 
threadbare calumnies of our ignorant adver- 
saries, who sputter about ecclesiastical 
tyranny and oppression. These children of 
the Church, though not really disloyal to 
the point of actual infidelity, do not possess 
the Catholic spirit and hence become easy 
victims to a greater or less extent to the re- 
bellious spirit of the age of which I have 
spoken. Perhaps a more practical way of 
studying this spirit of opposition to the 
authority of the Church would be to look at 
the disregard of many Catholics towards the 
solemn laws of the Church. I am perfectly 
aware that many who are neglectful of her 
precepts are willing to profess belief in and 
submission to her authority. Yet how can 
the man who neglects the hearing of Mass, 
the laws of fasting and abstinence, the law 
requiring the reception of the sacraments, 
the law requiring material support for reli- 
gion and its ministers, how can that man, I 
say, be totally free from a spirit of insubor- 
dination and disregard of the Church's 
authority. Again, we find in many parishes 



382 Plain Serjnons. • 

a spirit of sedition against a pastor, who has 
offended members of his flock, either by 
adopting a certain line of action in the ad- 
ministration of his parish, or by refusing to 
acknowledge these folks as entitled to a rul- 
ing voice. They straightway lose sight of 
the ecclesiastical authority vested in him 
and of the obedience which they owe to him 
and become rebellious. Frequently they 
make their rebellion effective by cutting off 
their material contributions and by injuring 
their pastor's efficiency, through injurious 
criticism. Sometimes the evil disposition of 
the malcontents goes so far as to form divis- 
ions in a congregation, thus diminishing a 
priest's authority so as to paralyze the mis- 
sion of the Church in his parish. These 
persons are surely rebels against the author- 
ity of the Church and their Catholicity is of 
a very feeble character. It is expedient to 
observe here that the uncharitable discus- 
sion of ecclesiastical persons constitutes not 
only a sin against Christ's law of love, but 
also an offense against the respect that as 
Catholics we owe to every consecrated minis- 
ter of God. The evil that is done to religion 



Respect for Pare?ital and Church Authority. 383 

by the unrestrained discussion of the char- 
acters of the Lord's annointed is enormous, 
since there is hardly anything that more 
successfully impairs their efficiency as min- 
isters of Christ. Greater sanctity is required 
of them than of the lay faithful, by reason 
of their consecration, which makes them the 
dispensers of the mysteries of God, yet, 
when they fall from their high estate, or 
when their faults are foisted upon public no- 
tice, it should be borne in mind that they 
are so identified with the Sacrifice which 
they offer and the Sacraments which they 
administer and are still so filled with the 
power of the priesthood that to circulate 
their misfortunes is to injure religion and 
to show irreverence and disrepect to the 
authority of the Church. " Obey your prel- 
ates and be subject to them." 

" Honor thy father and thy mother." Let 
this precept sink deep into the hearts of the 
young. Love, honor and obey your fathers 
and mothers from the depth of your hearts. 
Love them with a true, filial affection. Give 
external proofs of your love by taking de- 
light in their company, by anticipating their 



384 Plain Sermons. 

wishes and by repressing every temptation 
to show them the slighest disrespect. Imi- s 
tate the example of the youthful Tobias, 
whose persevering fidelity to the Fourth 
Commandment, caused his parents to call 
him the light of their eyes, the staff of their 
age, their hope and solace. Remember that 
no amount of filial devotion will ever fully 
repay the debt of gratitude which you owe to 
them. " Honor thy father and forget not the 
groanings of thy mother." "Remember that 
thou hadst not been born, but through 
them." (1) Never lose sight of the special 
insistence of the Almighty upon this pre- 
cept, and ponder well that the Son of God 
did not teach us the observance of this 
command so much by word of mouth, as by 
becoming subject to His own creatures. 
Omnipotence in bonds for our edification! 
"He went down with them and came to 
Nazareth and was subject to them. 5 ' (2) 

Let us never forget that we are children 
of the Church by a special grace of God. 
We have been chosen from amongst mil- 

1 Bcclus, VII, 29, 30. 

2 Luc. II, 51. 



Respect for Parental and Church Authority, 385 

lions and not because of any merit of our 
own. We are, therefore, objects of God's 
special selection and favor. Therefore, let 
us humbly acknowledge the Lord's wondrous 
dispensation of mercy in our regard, by 
an unquestioning submission to the Church 
which He has constituted our teacher, guide 
and ruler. Put aside all thought of personal 
independence when it is question of the 
Church. We are her children, she is our 
mother, we her subjects, she our queen. 
Honor her priests, for they are the apple of 
the eye of God. Consider not their failings. 
For these they must render a dreadful ac- 
count, which is none of your affair. Be 
loyal to the Church at every point. Never 
be ashamed to own submission to her. Make 
no apology for her since she is the fair Spouse 
of Christ. Be penetrated with the knowl- 
edge that since the Lord has gathered you 
within her fold, upon your fidelity and obe- 
dience to her depends your eternal welfare. 
"He that heareth you, heareth Me; he that 
despiseth you, despisethMe, and he that de- 
spiseth Me despiseth Him that sent Me." 



PREPARATION FOR MARRIAGE. 

"This is a great sacrament: I speak in Christ and in 
the Church." (1) 

Dearly Beloved: Such being the idea of 
the Apostle concerning that institution upon 
which the social fabric depends, what shall 
we say of those appreciations and views of 
it which we meet with on every side, in a 
country where Catholics find it so difficult, 
nay, almost impossible to keep the soul free 
from the contagion of misbelief and moral 
rotteness. The vast majority of our coun- 
trymen have no conception of the sacramental 
sanctity and dignity of the marriage bond. 
The law of the land freely sanctions adul- 
terous contracts . - ! Surely , ' ' says a learned 
writer of the day, u it is only too evident 
that Protestantism has done its work thor- 
oughly; that it has first rationalized the no- 
tion of marriage and robbed it of all its 
mystical and spiritual import; then secular- 
ized what was a sacrament of the Gospel, 
1 Bph. v, 32. 

(386) 



Preparation for Marriage. 387 

and betrayed it into the hands of Caesar, 
and by these means has finally succeeded 
in profaning and degrading an institution 
on whose elevation and purity the whole 
fabric of true civilization depends." (1) 

It is because then of the great importance 
of matrimony itself, and because of the evils 
which surround it, especially here in our 
own ^country that it is necessary for us to 
consider most carefully and in detail the 
preparation required on the part of those 
who contemplate entering the married state. 
Young folks nowadays enjoy so much dan- 
gerous freedom in the matter of association 
that a large number of the marriages of the 
present time are contracted injudiciously 
and eventuate most unhappily. The fact 
that in matrimony a man and woman pledge 
themselves to each other, presumably for 
life, of itself makes necessary the most care- 
ful reflection by way of preparation. This 
preparation has to do primarily with the 
matter of selection. This must be consid- 
ered under several heads, to each of which 
we will give careful attention. Let us sup- 

1 Tyrrell, Hard Sayings, A Great Mystery, Page 242. 



388 Plain Sermons. 

pose the frequent case of a young couple 
who have met by some chance, and who at 
once become infatuated with each other. It 
is called, commonly, love at first sight. In 
a foolish haste they bind themselves to one 
another, and even enter immediately into 
the dread contract. Their knowledge of 
each other is of the slightest, most insuffi- 
cient character. Their love for each pther 
has been submitted to no test whatever, and 
when it is too late they begin to realize that 
it was all a piece of monstrous folly, and so 
they become indifferent toward each other, 
then conceive for one another an aversion, 
and finally either drift apart or live lives of 
misery and bitterness, from which marital 
infidelity is often not disassociated. 

Though the business of courtship or com- 
pany-keeping, as it is ordinarily named at 
present, is not without danger, yet it is a 
strictly necessary preparation for marriage. 
I am fully aware that certain preachers deny 
this, and would have us believe that all 
courtship should be condemned by reason of 
the dangers associated with it. This teach- 
ing, however, is not founded upon good 



Preparation for Marriage. 389 

judgment or a proper view of life's expe- 
riences. We will consider farther on in this 
discourse features which must mark court- 
ship, but at present we are considering only 
its necessity. 

A young man and a young woman have 
no business to engage themselves to one 
another without as complete knowledge of 
each other, as the use of prudent means will 
procure. It happens that a young girl falls 
in love with a young fellow without hav- 
ing made the slightest inquiry as to his 
personal character, and on the strength of 
their mutual regard she becomes engaged. 
She finds out subsequently that his moral 
character is open to serious suspicion; she 
discovers that he has an inordinate appetite 
for intoxicating drink; that he is remiss in 
the matter of attending to religious duties. 
These discoveries, however, she makes only 
after she has become fascinated with him, 
and has solemnly pledged herself to marry 
him. Her better judgment will warn her 
against marrying such a man, but her love 
outweighs all her better judgment, and she 
lays to her soul the flattering unction that 



390 Plain Sermons, 

by marrying him she can reform him. Ah, 
what blindness. Matrimony was not in- 
stituted by God as a reform school, and 
though we may all be cognizant of cases, 
where matrimony did actually effect what 
appeared at least to be reformation, a girl 
takes harrowing risks in marrying one 
whose life is habitually out of tune with 
the demands of Christian life. The young 
man who has fallen in love with a young 
woman, whose name he subsequently finds 
out is none of the best, upon whom a 
well-founded suspicion rests, runs still 
greater risks if, in his temerity, he is will- 
ing to take her for his companion and his 
chief support in life, and for the mother 
of his children, because though matrimony 
at times does effect the reformation of a man, 
the cases where it thus acts upon a woman 
are so rare that they merit no consideration 
in this connection. It is the object of the 
period of courtship, then, to find each other 
out (if I may be allowed the expression), 
to discover each other's faults, as well as 
each other's virtues; to learn each other's 
dispositions, prejudices and temperament. 



Preparation for Marriage, 391 

All this knowledge is strictly necessary to 
make an intelligent and prudent marriage, 
and it should be obtained before any en- 
gagement is entered into. Such acquaint- 
ance, when reinforced with the advice of pa- 
rents and confessor, will be of invaluable aid 
in determining the most important problem 
that confronts a young life. We are deal- 
ing with a case, in which it is not only 
allowable but most expedient to practice 
a sort of selfishness. A young man or 
woman about to enter the married condition 
should realize that the person who is to be 
his or her companion should be fitted to 
share the duties and responsibilities, as well 
as the joys and happiness of that state, and 
that such a helpmate be prospectively a fit 
parent, guide and exemplar for little ones. 
That person alone, therefore, has any solidly 
probable assurance of future success and 
happiness in married life, who determines 
to shun companions of inferior character or 
suspicious morals and who determines to be 
satisfied only with the very best possible 
helpmate. Many will answer to all this, 
that since love is an affair of the heart and 



392 Plain Sermons. 

not of the head, so since marriage follows 
ordinarily in the the path of lo^e, it cannot 
be circumscribed with all these prudential 
considerations. It is undoubtedly true that 
love and in consquence marriage are largely 
affairs of the heart, but not to the exclusion 
of the intelligence with which God has 
blessed us. Marriage, as God intended it, 
is not merely a carnal union, but princi- 
pally a union of souls, and its final cause or 
motive is not to fill the earth with animals 
" after the manner of dogs," as says the 
illustrious Augustine, of Hippo, (1) but to 
fill heaven with saints, to multiply bodies 
for the sake of souls." (2) Hence we can- 
not think seriously of marriage without con- 
cluding the necessity of the most prudent, 
the most cautious preparation. Marriage 
is an affair of the heart, but the heart in 
this, like in every issue of life in which it 
plays any part, must be directed and con- 
trolled by reason. At the present day the 
Catholic Church alone stands seriously for 
the sanctity, the dignity and the solemnity 

1 "More canino" St. Aug. De bono viduit. 

2 Tyrrell, "A Great Mystery." 



Preparation for Marriage. 393 

of the marriage relation. The sects of Prot- 
estantism profess a religious regard for mar- 
riage, but their playing fast and loose with 
the marital bond, and their sanction of 
adulterous unions after divorce demonstrate, 
beyond serious doubt, that their profession 
is, for the larger part, a mere semblance of 
respectability. 

So far, we have insisted that a young 
man or woman should utilize the days of 
courtship for arriving at a better knowledge 
of the moral make-up of the individual who 
is to be chosen as a fitting life companion, 
or rejected as undesirable. But there is 
another consideration besides the morals of 
the individual, which is of primary impor- 
tance, and that is religious profession. Let 
us put the matter clearly. No Catholic 
should allow an acquaintanceship with 
another to mature into courtship, if that 
other individual does not belong .to the 
household of the Faith, unless there is 
solid ground for the belief that the non- 
Catholic party will seek admission into the 
One True Fold. Again, no Catholic should 
engage to. marry one who professes other 



394 Plain Sermons. 

than the Catholic Faith. I am sure that 
these two propositions will meet with hostile 
criticism, and that facts may be quoted with 
a view to invalidating them; yet, Beloved, 
they express simply the mind of the Church, 
which is our teacher and ruler. Some may 
argue that since the Church permits the 
union of Catholic and Protestant in mar- 
riage, such a marriage may not readily be con- 
demned. The Church allows the mixed mar- 
riage with a heavy and an unwilling heart, 
and only when pressure is brought to bear 
upon her. The vast majority of matri- 
monial alliances between Catholics and those 
outside the Church eventuate badly, and 
the leakage to the Church through them is 
simply startling. The fact that in a cer- 
tain locality there have been a number of 
such unions, from which no damage to reli- 
gion has resulted, and from which, on the con- 
trary, the Church has gained accessions, in 
nowise militates against the wisdom of the 
general law. If the case is one in which 
both Catholic and non-Catholic parties are 
devoted members of their respective churches , 
the non-Catholic will feel, naturally, and 



Preparation for Marriage. 395 

from his point of view justly, that to expect 
him to give over to the Catholic party the 
entire religious education of his prospective 
family, is unfair and against his conscience. 
He may submit for the love of his wife, but 
he chafes under such an arrangement. It 
cannot be said that his objection is unrea- 
sonable, for though adhering to a false faith, 
he may be thoroughly honest, and therefore 
living according to his lights. There may 
come a time when he will repudiate his 
promise and claim a share in the spiritual 
education of his children, some of whom 
would, of a consequence, be lost to the 
Church. This is not a mere conjecture; it 
is the expression of a fear which has its 
foundation in facts. In cases where neither 
Catholic or Protestant is fervent in his or 
her attachment to religion it is perfectly 
needless to say that the religious education 
of the children will be either altogether neg- 
lected, or carried on in such wise as to 
achieve no appreciable results. Again, 
when the mother is a Catholic and the father 
an indifferentist, though the Catholic educa- 
tion of the girls may be carried through with 



396 Plain Sermons. 

success, the matter becomes exceedingly 
precarious with boys, once they have 
reached the age when the irreligious or care- 
less spirit of their father begins to impress 
itself upon their minds. The efforts of a 
mother, then, will hardly counterpoise the 
evil effects of the father's bad example, even 
though the mother in such a case be a wom- 
an of remarkable devotion to the Church, 
and the mother in such cases is not gener- 
ally that. Once more, if the father be the 
Catholic party and the mother an indiffer- 
ent Protestant, in nearly every case of the 
kind, the Catholic training of children 
amounts to nothing permanent, and their 
loss to the Church is practically assured. (1) 
It is then a most important feature in the 
proper preparation for marriage that Cath- 

1 Note. The above statements are founded mainly 
on experience gained during three years of missionary 
work in six dioceses of the United States, and from care- 
fully canvassed expressions of bishops and priests. I 
might add, as a matter of interest in this connection, that 
within the limits of a country parish of which I am at 
present pastor, I have found O'Briens, Sullivans, Murphys 
McNulties, Finnegans,Conways and O'Connors, all without 
a single exception, Protestants. I carefully investigated 
the matter and found that defections through mixed mar- 
riages have caused this lamentable state of affairs. 



Preparatio7i for Marriage, 397 

olics should select only Catholics. The se- 
lection of one outside the pale of the Church 
is not only against her laws, but it is tak- 
ing an alarming risk, both for one's own 
faith, and for the faith of the little ones who 
may be born as a result of the union. We 
come now to two more important considera- 
tions, which have relations to the period of 
courtship. The first of these deals with the 
conduct of the persons most concerned. It 
is an unhappy fact that many young per- 
sons endeavor to persuade themselves that 
the law of God, with respect to perfect chas- 
tity, does not bind them as rigorously dur- 
ing the period of company-keeping, as be- 
fore their attachment sprang up. Hence, 
they both allow and practise familiarities, 
some of which are dangerous and others are 
positively sinful. I am fully conscious of 
the fact that this is an extremely delicate 
topic, yet no sermon upon the necessary 
preparation of marriage deals sufficiently 
with the subject, unless this unfortunate 
phase of courtship is touched upon. Let it 
be well understood and accepted that a mar- 
riage engagement does not change the law 



398 Plain Sermons. 

concerning personal purity one jot or tittle. 
Therefore, a young man and woman during 
courtship, whether before or after a promise 
of marriage has been exchanged, are not al- 
lowed (so far as sinfulness is concerned) any ■ 
more familiarities with one another than 1 
they would be with utter strangers. Once I 
more, those demonstrations of ardent affec- 
tion, which induce the proximate danger of 
grave sin, are themselves mortally sinful. 
Hence, a courtship that is characterized by 
such disorders is an abomination in the 
sight of God, and invites His curse upon 
the prospective union. Such a courtship 
robs the marriage ceremony of one of its 
chief adornments, for it can no longer be 
the uniting of two innocent hearts, but 
rather the joining of two souls that have been 
steeped in corruption. Would to God that 
all this were better known and appreciated. 
Has that young man any pure love for a 
maiden, with whose virtue he would dare to 
trifle? Has he genuine respect for the girl, 
whom he would sacrifice to his disorderly 
inclinations? Does such a person give any 
reliable evidence that he is fitted to be a 



Preparation for Marriage. 399 

good, faithful husband and a model father? 
On the other hand, let me ask, what is to 
be thought of that young woman's apprecia- 
tion of her honor and virtue, who fear- 
ing, that by a right course of conduct, she 
would lose the love of this young animal, is 
willing to allow him liberties that fill her 
soul with sin. Can such a disposition en- 
hance her fitness for the positions of wife 
and mother? If the affections of a man can 
be retained only at such a horrible price, 
they are not only to be freely sacrificed, but 
should be regarded as a pestiferous infec- 
tion to be avoided at all hazards. 

What I have said does not impugn those 
modest tokens of love that are exchanged 
by loving Christian hearts, for from these 
are excluded everything that would suggest 
sensuality, grossness or anything which 
should bring a blush of shame to a decent 
Catholic girl's cheek. 

The second consideration relative to court- 
ship, deals with its duration. Though 
hasty marriages are to be avoided, since 
they are rash, inconsiderate and ill-advised, 
yet there is no just reason for prolonging a 



400 Plai?i Sermons. 

courtship for a lengthy period since it is 
fraught with danger to both souls. The 
usual economic excuses given for putting 
off marriage from month to month and even 
year to year, are unworthy (save in rare 
cases) of any serious considerations. It may 
be added, too, that courtships which are pro- 
longed into years are often a source of dis- 
edification, besides being the butt of un- 
kindly humorous criticism. These court- 
ships, I have said, are fraught with danger 
to both souls. The danger which is pres- 
ent in nearly every period of company-keep- 
ing is emphasized and increased when the 
courtship is unduly prolonged and the as- 
sociation in many such cases becomes so 
thoroughly disorderly that each of the par- 
ties is a proximate occasion of mortal sin 
for the other. The situation becomes so 
grave, frequently, that there is a serious ob- 
ligation to marry without delay or to sepa- 
rate entirely. 

The termination of courtship is, of course, 
the marriage ceremony and we will extend 
our subject so far as to say something about 
that event. 



Preparation for Marriage. 401 

The purely religious side of the marriage 
rite does not receive, nowadays, its proper 
attention. It has become the fashion to 
eliminate the mass, and even to celebrate 
marriage toward the close of the day, except 
when for reasons of an absolutely worldly 
character, it is performed at noon. Catho- 
lics, generally, are not aware, perhaps, that 
the real Catholic marriage ceremony is in- 
separable from the Holy Sacrifice, and that 
the brief ceremony which takes place, when 
the Mass is omitted, does not include the 
nuptial benediction of the Church. When 
the Church greets a couple on the threshold 
of marriage, with her full ceremonial, the 
sight is most impressive and inspiring, and 
it is an object-lesson that accentuates the 
sacredness of Christian marriage. She 
gives the contracting parties places of honor 
and interrupts her most solemn service in 
several places, to address herself directly to 
the espoused, reminding them of the gravity 
of their act, and pouring out blessings upon 
them. She insists upon the fact that the 
sacrament, which has just been received, is 
a symbol of that union which exists between 



402 Plain Sermons. 

Jesus Christ and His spouse, the Church. 
One cannot read the words of the solemn 
nuptial blessing without being deeply im- 
pressed with the nobility and holiness of 
the marriage tie. 

Catholics, contemplating marriage, should 
then conform to the spirit of the Church, 
by entering into the married state before 
the altar, when the Lamb of God is about 
to be slain for them that their union may 
receive abundantly of Divine blessings. 
Marriage is an honorable thing, u a great 
sacrament," therefore, it should be cele- 
brated with every feature of religious pomp 
with which the Church invests it. Couples, 
at times, insist with the priest that their 
marriages must be of as quiet a character 
and as secret as possible. Apart from the 
cases, where public decency requires that 
the marriage ceremony be secretly per- 
formed, such prejudices are to be strongly 
condemned. The secret marriage is a slight 
upon that honorable institution, which 
Christ made a sacrament of the New Law, 
and which is as we have said the foundation 
of the entire social fabric. 



Preparation for Marriage. 403 

Prepare well, then, for this extremely im- 
portant step. Know well the companion 
to whom you will commit yourself for life. 
Be not satisfied with any one who is not en- 
titled to your respect, as well as your love. 
Trust not your own judgment, but remember 
that parents and the ministers of God should 
play important parts in the matter of aiding 
and directing you, especially before you 
solemnly engage yourself. Marry within 
the fold. Realize that the most promising 
mixed marriage probably holds bitterness 
in store for you. Let your conduct during 
the time of courtship be marked by the 
most delicate appreciation for propriety. 
Fortify yourselves by prayer and the sacra- 
ments, and endeavor to cultivate right no- 
tions as to the sacredness of marriage. With 
this sort of preparation, you will approach 
the altar with pure and confiding hearts, 
and God will bless your unions, and 
strengthen you against the trials and tests, 
which are bound to be the lot of all who 
enter the married state. 



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